GUWAHATI
Ahead of Assembly elections, Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga has reaffirmed the commitment of the Mizo National Front (MNF) to total prohibition in the State.
His assertion followed local media reports that a section of Mizo society, including some church leaders and government officials, favours the reopening of wine shops in the State.
The MNF, a member of the BJP-fronted North East Democratic Alliance, ended 10 years of Congress rule in Mizoram after bagging 26 of a total of 40 seats in 2018.
Zoramthanga, also the MNF president, sought to know who the church leaders and others in favour of liquor sales in the State are.
“We are totally against the repeal of the total prohibition law as we have experienced the grievous impact caused on the Mizo society by alcohol, which claimed many lives during the time when wine shops were open,” he said at a party programme in State capital Aizawl recently.
Also Read | Explained | The big northeast battle en route to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections
He said The Mizoram Liquor (Prohibition) Act of 2019 was introduced by the MNF government in the larger interest of the churches and the Mizo people. Total prohibition was one of the major promises of the MNF leading to the 2018 State polls.
The Prohibition Act replaced The Mizoram Liquor (Prohibition & Control) Act of 2014 introduced by the erstwhile Congress government, which allowed the opening of wine shops in the State.
The new liquor law prohibits the import, export, transport, manufacture, possession, sale, and consumption of alcohol in Mizoram barring three autonomous district councils in the southern part of the State. These councils are Chakma, Lai, and Mara.
