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Will Naidu Stick To His Word On Belt Shops?

Will Naidu Stick To His Word On Belt Shops?

With womenfolk across Andhra Pradesh revolting against the government for liberalising liquor sales in its latest excise policy resulting in mushrooming of belt shops (unauthorised liquor shops), the Chandrababu Naidu government has decided to launch a crackdown on these belt shops.

Apparently, YSR Congress party MLA R K Roja’s threat to launch a state-wide agitation if belt shops were not closed also seems to have worked on Naidu.

In the cabinet meeting held on Tuesday, Naidu gave orders to the excise department to start a drive to close down the belt shops across the state starting from Wednesday.

The Cabinet has also discussed the possibility of allowing only licensed shops with allotted numbers.

Naidu initially declared that he would close down the belt shops within two months, but Roja insisted that it should be done within 10 days, failing which she would launch a state-wide agitation.

As a result, Naidu also instructed the officials to wind up all the belt shops within 10 days.

It remains to be seen whether Naidu would be able to stick to this deadline. It requires strong political will to close down the unauthorised liquor shops, rather than just mere rhetoric.

Does Naidu have this will power?

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