Is Congress for pub bharo?

On the other hand, they will gain the eternal gratitude of
Hindus to whom the Ram Janmabhoomi has tremendous emotional
significance. One positive step and that will strengthen Hindu-Muslim
unity as never before. To both Muslims and Hindus it will be a win-win
situation. By attempting to widen the gulf between the two communities
Sonia Gandhi will render immense harm to the country which she
professes to serve. A word to the wise should suffice. As for the
Mangalore pub controversy, it has been plainly overplayed for political
reasons and statements have been made by Congress leaders that call for
strong condemnation.

According to Renuka Chowdhury, Women and Child Development
Minister there has been “a complete breakdown of law and order in
Karnataka”. Nothing of that sort has happened and by making such highly
provocative remarks, the Minister has only hurt her own party’s chances
at the forthcoming polls. Complete breakdown of law and order? Really?
What happened in Mumbai during the jehadi siege? Was it an example of
high maintenance of law and order with the blood of a couple of hundred
innocent people staining the earth? Mangaloreans can do without the
patronage of the likes of Renuka Chowdhury and her boss. Besides, in
the matter of young people visiting pubs, is the Minister aware of what
is happening right under her nose in the capital?

According to a survey conducted by an NGO, called Campaign
Against Drunken Driving (CADD) “nearly 80 per cent of those visiting
pubs and bars in the Indian capital are below the age of 25 and that of
the under-age population at Delhi’s pubs 67 per cent are below 21 years
of age”. It would seem that Delhi’s excise laws ban the sale of liquor
to or by anyone below 25 years and if an underage person is caught
consuming alcohol, or if the vendor is caught, it could mean a fine of
Rs 10,000. The CADD study found the laws ineffective, as nearly 33.9
per cent of those below the age of 16 easily procure alcohol from
government–authorised liquor shops, bars and pubs.

According to a press report, the law also prohibits any person
below the age of 25 years to be employed at any bar or pub and the
offence is punishable with a fine of Rs 50,000 or imprisonment of three
months to be levied on the outlet. Says a report in the Free Press
Journal: (February 2) “Still nearly 55 per cent of those working as
service attendants in bars and restaurants are young boys and girls
below the age of 25. The research was conducted from December 2008 to
January 2009 among 1,000 youth who go to the pubs and bars. Nearly 85
per cent of the youth surveyed were in the age group of 14-21, even
though the legal drinking age is 25 years”.

Can one believe that youngsters between the ages of 14 and 21
visit pubs and that too, in Delhi, where the government is run by the
Congress party under the leadership of Sheila Dixit? How many of the
youthful pub-patrons have ever been arrested and how many of the pubs
have had to pay a fine? And what have Renuka Chowdhury and Sonia Gandhi
to say about these revelations? According to the survey, in Delhi,
annually about 2,000 youths under age 21 die from motor vehicle
crashes, other unintentional injuries, homicides and suicides that
involve underage drinking. Prince Singhal founder of CADD is quoted as
saying: “Underage drinking is a prelude to drunk driving and thus it is
important to curb it in the initial stages, so that it does not end up
as a habit among young individuals”.

Another startling fact revealed was that the drinking age in
Delhi has gone down from 28 to 19 years since 1990. CADD estimates that
in another five to seven years, this figure may come down to 15 years.
The survey found that it is not binding for liquor serving outlets or
vends to verify the age of the consumer. But the survey found that
nearly 44.4 per cent of Class 12 students had consumed alcohol in the
survey period. Instead of looking at these facts, Sonia Gandhi and
Renuka Chowdhury are planning to use the so-called Mangalore pub
incident as a political weapon. They don’t seem to realise what damage
they are doing to India by their irresponsible behaviour.


Should we say that there is no law and order in Delhi?
Obviously there isn’t and the police look the other way when teenagers
visit pubs. We do not have any information on how long these visitors
stay at the bar or how much liquor they drink. Parents obviously are
either unaware of what is going on or couldn’t care less. One might
damn the Shri Ram Sena to one’s heart’s content for using violence, but
at least they seem to care enough. At this point in time we have no
statistics as to how old the girls serving drinks are and how many
teenagers have been attending the Mangalore pub.