Social activist Anna Hazare, who announced last week he will sit on an indefinite hunger strike from February 14 against the Maharashtra government’s policy to allow sale of wine at walk-in stores and supermarkets, declared on Sunday he has ‘suspended’ the strike as the state government has assured him it will consider citizens’ views before going ahead with the decision.
I informed the villagers that the government has decided to put up the cabinet’s decision before citizens for their suggestions and objections and only after their approval, a final decision will be taken. Hence, I have decided to suspend tomorrow’s hunger strike,” Hazare said after a ‘gram sabha’ in his native village of Ralegan Siddhi in the state’s Ahmednagar district. During the interaction, Hazare also remarked that ‘wine is not the culture of our state,’ adding that the sale of liquor will ‘destroy our culture.’
“There are several beer bars, permit rooms and shops to sell wine, then why should the ruling dispensation sell it in supermarkets and grocery stores? Does it want to spread addiction?” he added.Earlier, the anti-corruption activist, who, in 2011, led the India Against Corruption (IAC) movement against the then United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the Centre, wrote to Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, demanding that the policy be scrapped ‘immediately.’
