http://www.webpage.com:80/hindu/daily/980323/04/04232077.htm
 
>                              [THE HINDU]
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>                        Monday, March 23, 1998
>                           SECTION: Regional
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>             Prohibition lobby attacks Bansi Lal
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>             Date: 23-03-1998 :: Pg: 09 :: Col: a
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>             By Our Special Correspondent
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>             CHANDIGARH, March 22.
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>             The prohibition lobby, which till recently regarded the
>             Haryana Chief Minister, Mr. Bansi Lal, as a staunch
>             `friend' and a `hero', has now changed its opinion. Mr.
>             Bansi Lal is the `most shunnable commodity' now and the
>             lobby will not rest content till the Chief Minister
>             resigns on moral grounds.
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>             Two senior Arya Samaj leaders, Prof. Sher Singh, a
>             former Union Minister and President of the All India
>             Prohibition Council,and Swami Agnivesh, literally spewed
>             out venom against Mr. Bansi Lal whom they described as a
>             `traitor' to the cause of `prohibition'. They announced
>             here on Saturday the launching of a massive campaign
>             aimed at securing the ouster of the HVP-BJP regime in
>             Haryana and holding of fresh elections in the State.
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>             They also said they would call a meeting of other social
>             and religious organisations at Rohtak on March 25 to
>             chalk out strategies and in the meantime would stage
>             demonstrations between March 28 and 31 at several places
>             where the liquor vends will be auctioned.They would
>             mobilise people,particularly women, to observe April 1,
>             the day when Haryana goes wet, as a `Black Day' in
>             protest against the Bansi Lal regime's volte-face on
>             `prohibition'.
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>             They accused Mr. Bansi Lal of having hijacked the
>             `prohibition' plank from the social and religious
>             organisations for his own vested political interest - of
>             coming to power in the State in the April 1996
>             elections. Although generally `evasive' about their
>             `role' during the last 20 months since July 1996 when
>             total prohibition was introduced in the State, they said
>             that the Bansi Lal regime had been reportedly indulging
>             in smuggling of liquor in the State and had now lifted
>             the `ban' at the behest of the powerful liquor lobby.
>             They were not able to satisfy mediapersons about their
>             `silence' all these months if these things were
>             happening.They also strongly reacted to the Government's
>             stand that the social and religious organisations which
>             had been in the forefront of the prohibition movement
>             had later backed out.
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>             Drawing upon their understanding of Gandhian economics,
>             they commented that the logic that developmental works
>             were stalled due to loss of revenue resulting from
>             imposition of prohibition was ridiculous. They said that
>             prohibition could have clicked if the Government had
>             sincerely wanted to do so.
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>             Interestingly, the two Arya Samaj leaders condemned the
>             BJP sharply and said that prohibition in Haryana had
>             `failed' because the BJP-ruled States in the
>             neighbourhood had encouraged `smuggling'.They said they
>             would be submitting a memorandum to the Prime Minister,
>             Mr.Atal Behari Vajpayee, to specify the BJP's stand
>             regarding imposition of total prohibition all over the
>             country.
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