A viral video of Vidya Rani Danoda, Congress leader & former MLA aspirant from Narwana assembly seat, Haryana, is making rounds on social media in which she is seen urging Congress workers to distribute liquor among protesting farmers as a token of ‘support’. Danoda said that the protests had almost lost ground and momentum after the January 26 violence but somehow the supporters have been able to keep it alive.
https://twitter.com/SIDH_SANWAR/status/1361231900812042251?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwDanoda said that after surveying the current situation in the state, they should do a march to show support to the farmers. She claimed that it would help Congress party in regaining its position in Haryana. Danoda further said that party workers should ‘help’ the protesting farmers in every possible way let it by giving them money, vegetables, ghee or even liquor.
When someone tried to stop her from mentioning liquor, she justified herself by saying that it is normal to give alcohol to an ailing man. She claimed that there are all type of people in the protests and to make sure they keep on protesting and stay put, it is essential to ‘support’ them by distributing alcohol if it is what the ‘protestors’ need.
As per a report in TV9 Hindi, the meeting had taken place in the Congress Bhavan on Sunday 14 February. When asked by media persons, she later claimed that her statements are being twisted and she had only joked about liquor as sometimes old and ailing persons are given liquor.
Who is Vidya Rani Danoda?
45-years-old Vidya Rani Danoda is a Congress leader from Narwana assembly in Haryana. In 2019 assembly elections, she managed to get only 9.2% votes and lost the seat by a margin of over 65,000 votes.
Reports of free-flowing alcohol at farmer protests
There have been several reports of free-flowing liquor at farmer protests. A conversation between two protesters went viral recently in which one protester admitted that he was camping at Ghazipur border for money and free alcohol. During Republic Day riots, a video of TV9 Gujarat went viral in which a trolley belonging to rioting ‘protesters’ was found laden with liquor bottles and snacks.