The ban on alcohol sales in the Indian capital is political, British media: behind it reflects the fierce political struggle
[Global Times Comprehensive Report] Residents of the Indian capital may not be so convenient to buy alcohol.
According to the British "Financial Times" report on the 15th, Delhi, the capital of India, will resume the ban on private alcohol sales from September 1. Affected by this, many private alcohol retailers have closed down recently.
In the next step, Delhi will formulate a new licensing system for liquor sales, but private liquor retailing will survive in the cracks until the new regulations are clarified.
Statistics show that 126 liquor retailers closed in Delhi at the beginning of August.
There are also statistics that there are currently only 342 liquor retailers in Delhi.
According to the report, Delhi actually only relaxed the control of alcohol retailing and allowed private retailers to sell alcohol last year, and now it has changed its course immediately after just one year, which reflects the fierce struggle of Indian political parties.
At present, Delhi is governed by the newly emerging Populist Party in Indian politics, while the central government is governed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party.
The relaxation of alcohol retailing in Delhi last year was a move by the Populace Party, but the move did not effectively increase government tax revenue, which gave the central government an excuse to blame, and then there was a tightening of local alcohol retailing policies.
The constitution of India advocates prohibition of alcohol by state governments. At present, some states in India have also implemented prohibition on alcohol, but alcohol commodity tax has always been an important source of tax revenue for the government.
(Wang Pinzhi)