Part 4 – Ten things that Modi must do in the current term, according to Prof. RV

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• Sir, a couple of months back, Hon’ble Justice N Anand Venkatesh in the Hon’ble Madras High Court wondered whether the state government should be considered as an abettor in crimes committed under the influence of alcohol. In my humble opinion, the issue is not whether one should drink alcohol or not. The issue is not whether the state governments should prohibit liquor or not. But, the real issue is why are the state governments actually encouraging liquor consumption, why liquor is an important source of income for state governments and why state governments have a vested interest in the business of liquor consumption. Bars have come up like never before in the last couple of decades. In TV debates, politicians said that they cannot run the government without income from the liquor business. They also said that the taxes from liquor sales are necessary to run various social welfare programs in the state. In short, the state governments are dependent on drunkards. If the drunkards do not drink, the state governments will collapse. The state governments are the real addicts. It is necessary to ensure that state governments do not have a vested interest in alcohol production and sales. Alcohol was exempted from GST. Alcohol also must be brought under GST like any other commodity. In the olden days, the wine shops used to be very few in number and they used to be located outside the cities, usually adjacent to the grave yards. Let us get back to the olden days, drastically reduce the number of bars and put them in remote locations outside cities and towns. Governments should have nothing to do with alcohol, except collecting GST.

• Sir, whether Prof RV is giving suggestion to PM or you and Prof RV are chatting and wasting our time ??