Coimbatore:
A day after extending support to the August 4 bandh call in Tamil Nadu by some political parties on the issue of prohibition, CPI today demanded a nation-wide ban on liquor and said the Centre should immediately bring in an ordinance in this regard.
"Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan, hailing from Tamil Nadu and other senior BJP leaders from the state should prevail upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi to impose a total ban on liquor in India," CPI leader D Pandian told reporters in Coimbatore.
By an ordinance the Centre can implement prohibition and the NDA government should take steps towards this, he said. Yesterday, DMK and PMK had demanded a judicial probe into the death of a Gandhian activist Sasi Perumal during a protest against a state-run liquor outlet, while other parties, including Vaiko-led MDMK, had called for a bandh on August 4, demanding closure of liquor shops, as sought by him.
Mr Perumal, who had been campaigning for total prohibition in Tamil Nadu for many years, had climbed a mobile phone tower in Kanyakumari district on Friday, demanding closure of a liquor outlet near an educational institute.
He had collapsed during the more than five-hour long stir and died while on the way to hospital.
MDMK, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi and Manithaneya Makkal Katchi gave a call for a bandh on August 4, which received support from BJP, CPI-M and CPI.
On the land acquisition bill, Mr Pandian said CPI would organise demonstrations as already announced in five zonal centres -- Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Thanjavur and Tirunelveli on Aug 13, opposing it.