Sagar/Bhopal, Sep 12 (IANS): The Sagar spurious liquor tragedy has triggered a political confrontation in Madhya Pradesh, with senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh alleging a nexus between BJP leaders and government officials in the illegal liquor trade, while state minister Vishwas Sarang accused the opposition of politicising the deaths.
Former Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh, during a visit to Chhatarpur on Saturday, said the government should take action against those involved in the illegal sale of liquor across the state and questioned why the trade was allowed to continue despite the administration being aware of it.
“I say that this should be stopped across the entire state. When the government knows that liquor is being sold on such a large scale, why is it allowing this to happen? Why have licenses not been cancelled, and why has no action been taken against it?” Singh asked.
He alleged that the issue could not be viewed only as a law-and-order failure and claimed that government revenue from liquor had also contributed to the situation.
“This is also a source of income for the government, and it affects revenue as well. Therefore, somewhere, officials in the administrative system and some Bharatiya Janata Party leaders are involved in this, which is why this is happening,” Singh told IANS.
The allegation drew a response from state minister Vishwas Sarang, who claimed that the government had taken all necessary steps following the tragedy and urged opposition leaders not to politicise the deaths.
“There should be no class conflict or confusion, and attempts should not be made to do politics over the dead. The incident is certainly unfortunate, and the government has taken all necessary steps,” Sarang said while speaking to IANS in Bhopal.
He reiterated that the government is committed to preventing such incidents from happening again, and opposition leaders should also refrain from politicising deaths.
The exchange of words comes after the suspected consumption of illicit liquor in villages in the Banda area of Sagar district left 18 people dead. More than 80 affected persons have recovered and returned home, according to the district administration.
Several patients were admitted to Bundelkhand Medical College (BMC), where some critically ill persons required ventilator support. “We were able to bring them to BMC within the given timeframe, and out of those, more than 80 people have recovered and returned to their homes. The team made significant efforts, including for some patients who had to be put on ventilators, helping them recoup and recover,” Sagar collector Pratibha Pal said.
Police have arrested several accused in the case, while some others were initially reported absconding. Key accused Ravi Lakhera was subsequently arrested after sustaining a gunshot injury during a police encounter in the Baraytha forest area on Friday.
The state government has already suspended officials in connection with the incident and ordered a judicial inquiry into the tragedy.
