NEW DELHI: Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta on Wednesday said his party leaders and workers will get all the illegally opened liquor shops in the capital "sealed", including those near schools and temples.
During a protest at Haidarpur-Shalimar road, Gupta got a liquor shop shut down there in the presence of party workers and locals. "Liquor shops have been opened everywhere, including near schools and temples as well as residential colonies. We will get all these illegally opened shops sealed," Gupta asserted.
He hit out at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, alleging it has failed to ensure supply of safe drinking water to Delhiites but opened liquor shops everywhere.
Under the new excise policy of the Delhi government implemented in November last year, over 580 liquor shops have been opened by private firms. The Excise department has allotted 849 licences for retail liquor sale to private parties through the tender process.
The BJP-ruled municipal corporations have sealed several liquor shops for alleged violations of Delhi Master Plan provisions.
The excise department recently allowed licensees for shifting their shops if they fell in non-confirming areas in a ward to authorised commercial areas within a given zone. The licences were issued by dividing the city into 32 zones.