Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari courted controversy on Tuesday after he said that women in Madhya Pradesh consume more alcohol than anywhere else in the country.
Addressing a press conference in Bhopal, Patwari said that the BJP government’s policies had turned Madhya Pradesh, once projected as the land of prosperity, into a state drowned in intoxication.
“If your son is unemployed, if your son comes home intoxicated, then I say with 100 per cent certainty that the ones responsible are the Bharatiya Janata Party, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and Mohan Yadav. In Madhya Pradesh, women consume more alcohol than anywhere else in the country… This is the condition created by the BJP in Madhya Pradesh,” he said. “As for drugs, no other state has as much drug activity as Madhya Pradesh.”
“Our sisters have started taking drugs, our daughters have started taking drugs. They took votes in the name of Ladli Behna, but in reality, the women of Madhya Pradesh consume the most intoxicants in the country… The BJP has turned our state into such a place, and you should reflect on this,” Patwari said.
In response, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said the Congress party never gave reservations to women or came up with schemes like Ladli Laxmi or Ladli Behna. “Instead, the Congress calls our sisters alcoholics. This is an insult to 50 per cent of the population. I think the Congress president should apologise. This kind of language should not be used for ladli behnas; it’s very unfortunate,” he said.
According to the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5), Arunachal Pradesh has the highest number of women who consume alcohol. “Only 1 per cent of women drink alcohol, compared with 19 per cent of men. Alcohol use among women aged 15 and over is highest in Arunachal Pradesh (24%) and Sikkim (16%),” the report stated.
Patwari, however, explained that in recent years, there has been a worrying increase in alcohol consumption and addiction among women and youth in Madhya Pradesh, evidenced by the NFHS and government reports.
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Patwari said that according to the NFHS-5 report, “1.6% of women in the state consume alcohol, including 2.1% of women in rural areas and 0.6% of women in urban areas. Compared to 2015–16 (NFHS-4), alcohol consumption among women in rural areas has increased. Meanwhile, the urban figures are also a cause for concern. In several districts of Madhya Pradesh, women have been protesting against illegal liquor sales.”
