They promptly write away Nitish Kumar’s support for prohibition as a gimmick to woo the women vote bank without bothering to ask why women demand prohibition in the first place. It would be some relief if local people, especially women, had a say in the closure of erring liquor shops. The license holder and his henchmen do everything in their power to prevent women from reaching the venue of the gram sabha. The date for the gram sabha is announced 15 days in advance and women have to face violent opposition during this period. Having worked on this issue for 15 years at the grassroots level in Maharashtra, we would make a straightforward assertion that women demand prohibition as a political solution because liquor has become a political issue.

Source: Indian Express June 13, 2016 18:54 UTC