Liquor stores in the national capital, Delhi, will be open on Holi. According to an order issued by the Delhi government back in January, the festival of colours is no longer on the list of 'dry days', meaning days when the liquor stores are shut.
The January notification mentioned that Republic Day, Maha Shivratri, Id-ul-Fitr, Ram Navami and Mahavir Jayanti will also be observed as 'dry days'. This list, reports say, is from the January-March period.
The order mentions that those holding a licence to run a liquor store won't be entitled to any compensation for the closure. It also specified that the curbs won't apply to licensed hotels and guesthouses serving liquor to their guests.
Over the past couple of decades, Holi has mostly been a 'dry day' in the national capital, a choice aimed at preventing law and order issues. The only exception was 2022, when a liquor policy brought by the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party government had reduced the number of 'dry days' to just three.
Interestingly, the BJP, which is now in power and has removed Holi from the 'dry days' list, had then slammed the AAP government for reducing the number of dry days.
"There were 21 dry days to mark national holidays and to pay respect to the religious sentiments of people. I can not understand why Chief Minister Kejriwal is more inclined towards the liquor mafia. Every day, Delhi witnesses a liquor sale of over Rs 50 crore, and everybody knows how and why Arvind Kejriwal is supporting the liquor mafia," then Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta had said. With the party now making a U-turn, the issue is likely to spark a political row, especially in the aftermath of the acquittal of Kejriwal and senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia in the corruption case linked to Delhi's now-scrapped liquor policy.
