On June 11, the official twitter handle of Madhya Pradesh unit of the Congress Party tweeted a photo of a woman in uniform sitting a liquor shop claiming that the MP government under CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan has deployed women officers to sell liquor in the state.

The tweet reads, “This picture is very shameful. Shivraj government is so eager to sell alcohol that it’s making women sit at liquor shops. This shows their disrespectful mindset towards sisters and daughters. Shivraj ji, we worship women in our culture. Does your culture make women sell alcohol?”

Congress spokesperson Shobha Oza tweeted about the incident, “Shameful decision of the Madhya Pradesh government to put women on duty for the sale of liquor is against the dignity, safety and honour of women. The government should immediately take back this unnecessary and unreasonable decision and respect the public sentiments.”

Fact Check

The claim made by Congress is false. The woman officer in the picture was the part of the inspection team and was not selling alcohol.

A Times of India report has quoted assistant commissioner (excise), Sanjeev Dubey, as saying, “no women were deployed to sell liquor or manage liquor shops.”

When asked about the presence of the excise department’s women staff inside the shop, Dubey said, “They are excise sub-inspectors and such others. They are a part of the inspections only. If anyone is claiming that women employees are deployed at liquor shops, then it is completely wrong.”

About the deployment letter being circulated on social media, Dubey replied, “It is fake. No one has issued such letter for women’s deployment.”

The TOI report also carries another picture of the same woman officer with another man in uniform who can be seen doing some paperwork.

Screenshot of TOI's report 

In conclusion: The claim made by the Congress party is false that the MP government has deployed women officers to sell alcohol in the state.