28 Sep, New Delhi: Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) holds the Gujarat government responsible for the deaths of 23 people who died of liquor consumption in Vareli near Surat.

Secretary General of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Muhammad Salim Engineer said that: “it is high time that prohibition that already exists in Gujarat is implemented in letter and spirit and the complete ban on liquor by the state does not remain only on paper. We are saddened by the tragedy and feel that alcohol which is termed by Islam as ‘’the mother of all evils’’ not only brings death and destruction to many families but is also damaging the social and moral fabric of society. Jamaat-e-Islami Hind believes that our Creator and Sustainer has prohibited alcohol and other intoxicants precisely for these reasons”.

The JIH Secretary General continued: “we hold the state government of Gujarat responsible for this tragedy as it turned a blind eye to the thriving illegal business of liquor supply. This hooch tragedy has thoroughly exposed the hype and harsh reality of ”dry” Gujarat. It may be recalled that nearly 150 people had lost their lives in Ahmedabad in 2009 when Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Obviously there were no lessons learned and the ground situation of supply of spurious and illegal liquor continues unabated. Jamaat demands that the guilty be awarded harsh punishment and that the illegal trading and supply of liquor from neighboring states be stopped. We want the Central government to ban liquor from the entire country.”