AHMEDABAD: In a desperate attempt to draw attention to the menace of the illegal liquor trade in dry Gujarat, 70-year-old Babu Shankar Patel on Monday threw a pouch of country liquor in the well of the state assembly. Patel, who retired as a school principal from Vadnagar, is a resident of Jetalvasna in Mehsana.

"Prohibition is like a milch cow that nobody wants to let go because of the illegal benefits it gives. I demand the state government scrap the liberal policy to give permits to five-star hotels for serving liquor," the pamphlet said.

Patel smuggled the liquor pouch into the assembly by hiding it under his turban. The assembly was shocked when the old man, dressed in rural attire, stood up, removed a liquor pouch from his turban, and threw the pouch into the assembly well from the VIP gallery. He refused to be dragged away by security personnel and sent pamphlets flying into the House.

The pamphlets appealed to the state government to strictly implement prohibition laws and withdraw the liberal permit policies announced recently. Patel is dedicated to the cause of de-addiction.

Deputy speaker Atmaram Parmar ordered the man to be removed from the assembly premises and kept in lockup for 24 hours as punishment for disrupting the assembly.

In the pamphlets, Patel wrote about his persistent appeals to MLAs, ministers and even the chief minister to whom, he claimed, he had faxed several letters seeking strict implementation of Gujarat high court's order on prohibition.

"Prohibition is like a milch cow that nobody wants to let go because of the illegal benefits it gives. I demand the state government scrap the liberal policy to give permits to five-star hotels for serving liquor," the pamphlet said.