Cong calls all party meet over liquor ban
The Goan Network
PANAJI
Congress on Tuesday called upon the BJP government led by Chief Minister Laxmikant
Parsekar to convene an all-party meeting whereby parties could unanimously decide the future course of action over Supreme Court's order banning sale of alcohol within 500 metres of state and national highways.
Speaking at Congress House, Congress secretary and spokesperson Avinash Tavares stated, "The government cannot duck behind the code of conduct on all aspects of governance till March 11. Goa government must convince the courts that wholesale alcohol vendors and restaurants which sell alcohol along the highways cannot be penalised for an individual's decision to drink excessively and drive. For no fault of theirs, thousands employed in these establishment cannot lose their livelihood."
While demanding an all-party meet on the matter, Tavares alleged that Parsekar's decision not to challenge the ban was an act of 'passing the buck to the next government' and sought to point out that the new government will get less than 15 days to approach the courts.
"By not implementing the road safety policies introduced by previous Congress governments at the State and Centre, the BJP stands solely responsible for the tremendous increase in road accidents and deaths in Goa," the Congressman accused.
Congress highlighted that the present BJP government failed to maintain four interceptor vehicles with speed radars purchased by the previous government and has that this government has also not purchased the proposed four new vehicles and eight new radars. RTO testing standards for vehicle licenses continue to await improvements and allotment of land for test track is also pending.
