Chennai: After levelling a series of charges on the law and order and presence of extremists in Tamil Nadu, Union Minister of State for Finance and Shipping Pon Radhakrishnan now claims total prohibition can be enforced in the State only if the BJP comes to power.
Taking a dig at the Dravidian parties on the issue he said, “the Dravidian parties can never enforce prohibition, only the BJP is capable of ensuring it. This can be possible if BJP comes to power in Tamil Nadu,” he said. Mr Radhakrishnan and his BJP have staged several agitations in the past demanding the state to wind up the TASMAC outlets. They did taste success in some instances, when they succeeded in getting the liquor outlets near schools and temples closed down.
By taking up prohibition as a poll plank ahead of the Lok Sabha election next year, Mr Radhakrishnan hopes to cash in on the sentiment. He has appealed to the women to give a clear mandate to the BJP.
The issue had dominated the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. While the AIADMK assured to implement prohibition in a staggered manner, the DMK jumped to declare that if it got elected, then it would bring in prohibition. The PMK, Vaiko’s MDMK, Vijayakanth’s DMDK and Thol Thirumavalavan’s VCK too, were quick to jump on the bandwagon.
While addressing the Tamilmagal Thamarai Maanaadu in Madurai, Mr Radhakrishnan also listed out various welfare schemes rolled out by the Narendra Modi-led government for the benefit of women across the country and said the BJP was committed towards the economic upliftment of women.
