BHOPAL: Congress state president Jitu Patwari has kicked up a political storm by claiming that women in Madhya Pradesh consume more alcohol than anywhere else in the country.
“Madhya Pradesh has got a medal for women in the state consuming more alcohol than anywhere else in the country. Not only this, but consumption of alcohol is maximum in MP. The BJP has ruined the situation,” Patwari said at a press conference in Bhopal.
He went on to further claim that maximum trade of drugs too is happening in MP, even more than Punjab. “But our CM hasn’t done anything to free us from the menace of drugs. The BJP got votes in the name of Ladli Behnas and now it’s the sisters and daughters of MP only, who are into nasha (addiction) more than anywhere else in the country.”
The former MP minister, who lost the 2023 assembly polls from his home constituency in Indore, further said, “If your son is unemployed and comes home under the influence of drugs, I say with full confidence that the responsibility lies with the BJP, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and Mohan Yadav.”
Importantly, the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5) data contradicts the Congress leader’s claim. According to the official data, the women’s alcohol consumption is highest in Arunachal Pradesh, where nearly 26 percent of women drink alcohol. In Sikkim, the figure stands at 16.2 percent, while Assam, Telangana, and Jharkhand also feature among the top states. In stark contrast, only 1.6 percent of women in Madhya Pradesh consume alcohol, placing the state far below the national average.
Entire ruling BJP went on the offensive over the state Congress’s chief’s controversial claim.
In the national capital Delhi, the BJP national spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member, Dr Sudhanshu Trivedi, said, “The MP Congress chief’s statement once again exposes the anti-women mindset of the Congress. I want to remind Jitu Patwari that MP is that state where the BJP regime gave 35% reservation to women in jobs and 50% quota to women in local bodies. The Ladli Laxmi Scheme in MP has been running for the girls since the time when there was a Congress-led UPA government at the Centre. There is a comprehensive women-oriented welfare scheme dedicated in the name of Devi Ahilyabai Holkar in MP. To put the facts regarding liquor consumption in India, an English daily recently released the facts which revealed that rural Telangana had become the alcohol consumption hub of India. The Congress needs to apologise for Patwari’s statements.”
Reacting to Patwari’s claim, MP chief minister Dr Mohan Yadav said in Jabalpur, “MP will not tolerate the dubbing of Ladli Behnas as Sharabis (drunkards). Neither our government nor our party will tolerate this insult of sisters on the festival of Hartalika Teej. The Congress’s national president should apologize for his state party chief’s insulting statement about women of the state and remove all those leaders making such statements.”
Reacting to Patwari’s statements, the state BJP chief Hemant Khandelwal said, “Today when sisters are observing the fast of Hartalika Teej with utmost devotion, use of such indecent and insulting language against women power is not just an affront to the Indian culture, but a gross insult to the faith of millions of women. Jitu Patwari must apologize to women for his indecent statements.”
Incensed over Patwari’s statements, the state BJP spokesperson Neha Bagga said, “Leaders like Jitu Patwari who have a hollow mindset, use false facts. Such statements not just murder facts but also kill the self-respect of women. It’s not the women who are drunk, but actually it’s his (Patwari) mindset which is drunk.”