Chandigarh: Bizarre it may sound but Punjab Health Minister Surjit Kumar Jyani does not consider 'sharab' (booze) an intoxicant.

"Main sharab nu nasha nahin samjhda. Tusi sharab nu nasha keh nahin sakde. (I don't think 'sharab' (booze) is an intoxicant. You cannot call alcohol an intoxicant).

"The government gives licences for manufacturing liquor, we auction liquor vends. As long as it is done, sharab cannot be called 'nasha' (intoxicant)... You have liquor in army. Liquor is also served at parties," the BJP MLA told reporters during an interaction after inaugurating a de-addiction centre at Gidderbaha in Muktsar district on Monday.

Notably, Punjab's estimated revenue from liquor for the year 2015-16 stands at Rs 5,100 crore.

Latching onto the remark, opposition parties including Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) attacked the Punjab government saying it 'exposes' the SAD-BJP coalition's 'double speak' and 'mentality' even as Shiromani Akali Dal distanced itself from the statement.

Maintaining that Jyani should have avoided making such a statement, SAD MP Prem Singh Chandumajra said, "Liquor is nasha (intoxicant)... there is no denying this fact. Consuming liquor is not considered a good thing in the society and moreover, it also impacts (those who consume) mentally."

Hitting out at both SAD and BJP, the Punjab unit of Congress said the government was 'fooling' people by opening de-addiction centres in the state to check drug menace.

"This statement is not of a BJP MLA. It is the state policy of SAD-BJP regime. It exposes the double speak of current regime... The claim of opening de-addiction centres is farce," senior Congress leader Sunil Jakhar said adding that both SAD and BJP are on the same 'wavelength' on this issue.

Alleging that SAD has been operating its district office from a liquor shop in Abohar, Jakhar asked, "What more proof is needed to expose the claims of SAD and BJP on drug menace in the state?"

Meanwhile, AAP's Punjab convener Sucha Singh Chottepur said the state health minister's statement reflects the 'mentality' of the SAD-BJP government.

"Basically, they (SAD-BJP) are not against drugs. They are hand-in-glove with the liquor barons. Though they claim that drug sale has been stopped in the state, it is a complete lie. A large number of people die every year by consuming spurious liquor," he said.

In Ludhiana, Punjab Education Minister Daljit Singh Cheema, who is also the spokesman of SAD, refused to make a comment on Jyani's statement. He, however, said, "There is no health benefit in consuming liquor. It is harmful. It is better (for people) not to consume sharab."

(With Agency inputs)