Fact Check: Did MP govt set up separate liquor shops for women? No, viral newspaper clipping is from 2020
A Hindi newspaper clipping that says the Madhya Pradesh government will open separate liquor shops exclusively for women is going viral on social media.
By Newsmeter Network Published on 23 April 2022 6:15 AM GMT
Hyderabad: A Hindi newspaper clipping that says the Madhya Pradesh government will open separate liquor shops exclusively for women is going viral on social media.
Fact Check
The claim is false.
NewsMeter conducted a keyword search and found several such posts with the same claim from 2021.
We also found a report by The Times of India from 27 February 2020 titled "Madhya Pradesh: Women-friendly liquor shops set to lift spirits." It said, "Kamal Nath government has decided to set up two exclusive shops each in Bhopal and Indore, and one each in Jabalpur and Gwalior. And these outlets would stock wine and whiskey brands that are popular among women."
Several news outlets, including Navbharat Times, india.com, and Outlook, had reported the same in February 2020.
Taking a cue from this, we looked up the archive section of the news website Peoples Samachar and found that the viral news clip was from 28 February 2020 from the Jabalpur edition of the e-newspaper.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the then Leader of Opposition, had criticised the Congress government's alleged move to open separate liquor stores for women in Madhya Pradesh.
Notably, the Kamal Nath-led Congress government in Madhya Pradesh had been toppled in March 2020 and was replaced by Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government after just 15 months in power.
Meanwhile, in February 2020, Excise minister Brijendra Singh Rathore clarified that the state will not open liquor stores exclusively for women.
NewsMeter further conducted a keyword search using the words 'Liquor store for women in MP' but didn't find any recent reports. Also, the new Excise policy of the state did not mention any such provision either.
Hence, the claim that Madhya Pradesh is going to set up separate liquor shops for women is false.
