Arvind Kejriwal will take oath as the Chief Minister of Delhi on December 28.
Incidentally, it happens to be the foundation day of the Indian National Congress (estd. 1885). Interestingly Kejriwal has hijacked several planks of the Congress. He popularised the Gandhi cap that Congress had junked long ago. Anna Hazare and he experimented with fast-unto-death – a Gandhian technique of which contemporary Congress is oblivious. He also (mis)appropriated the appellation ‘aam admi’ from a slogan coined by Jairam Ramesh- “Congress Ka Haath, Aam Admi ke Saath”. He spoke about ‘purity of means’ – or the Gandhian concept of political morality that is perceived as outmoded everywhere. Most of the issues espoused by Kejriwal are ‘municipal’ issues. But his electoral harvest, I dare say, could not be fully attributed to his poll promises. But he was able to strike a chord with the common masses with his behavioural politics. It remains to be seen whether he can keep the tempo up when in power.
There is, however, one issue which this champion of ethical politics has dodged in his campaign. As the Chief Minister of Delhi, he might be in a dilemma to take a call on it. It is the liberal liquor sale policy of the Sheila Dikshit Government. One donning a Gandhi cap to power should not be perceived as pursuing liquor-friendly policies. But the former Indian Revenue Service fully knows the revenue value of liquor sale. The Sheila Dikshit Government liberalised the liquor regime in Delhi. In the first financial year (FY 1999-2000) of being in power, the Sheila Government planned to restructure the liquor policy in Delhi. The Indian Express (February 10, 2000) informed that the Delhi Government had a proposal for home delivery of liquor. The proposal was shelved under weight of public and political opinion.
There are 62 breweries/distilleries/wineries in various industrial areas of Delhi. Interestingly, none of them is native to Delhi. Their registered addresses are mostly in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. But thanks to the liquor-friendly policies of the Sheila Government that Delhi is now an important centre of liquor production. Workshops on how to run distilleries successfully being held in Delhi Secretariat with the Chief Secretary of Delhi in the chair are symbolic enough!
Delhi became the first State in India to rollout the touted National Food Security Act, 2013 on Rajiv Gandhi’s birthday (August 20). Ironically, the Delhi State Civil Supplies Corporation (DSCSC) Ltd runs only one Fair Price Shop (at Garage No 6 President’s Estate) and 113 wine shops (94 L-6 vends selling India Made Foreign Liquor and 19 country liquor shops). Between the 1998 election and 2013 election in Delhi, the number of L6 vends have shot up from 76 to 94 whereas L8 vends selling country liquor increased from 13 to 19. To this one, must add 114 L6 vends and 44 L8 vends run by Delhi Tourism. The Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC) Ltd runs another 96 IMFL vends (L6) and 15 country liquor (L8) vends. Sheila Dikshit mounted an elaborate advertisement campaign giving statistics of incremental facilities in Delhi between 1998 and 2013. She, however, refrained disclosing the growth in the number of liquor vends in the National Capital territory between 1998 and 2013.
There is no gainsaying that without the financial sinews provided by liquor money, many development projects of Sheila Dikshit would have been non-starters. The flyovers built by Delhi Tourism were evidently from liquor money. Arvind Kejriwal had made the law and order situation in Delhi, especially the safety of women, a rallying point. It needs to be found out whether there is a provable inverse relationship between law and order and liquor sale.
Mahatma Gandhi was against liquor completely. Mahatma Gandhi’s land, Gujarat, is the only State in India that has run a successful prohibition policy. Under Narendra Modi’s governance, prohibition has been tightened, whereas development has taken a quantum leap in Gujarat. For Kejriwal, it might be a tough call to balance morality against revenue. But he will have to take the call in the larger public interest.
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