Bihar hooch tragedy echoes in Parliament; BJP MPs seek action against Nitish Kumar government

Seeking immediate action, Sanjay Jaiswal, BJP MP from Pashchim Champaran, said, “It’s Bihar Government-sponsored murder”

BJP’s Rajya Sabha MPs Sushil Kumar Modi, Shambhu Sharan Patel, Vivek Thakur and Satish Chandra Dubey come out of the House after raising the issue of the Bihar hooch tragedy during the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament, in New Delhi on December 15, 2022. | Photo Credit: PTI

The Bihar hooch tragedy echoed in Parliament on Thursday, disrupting the Rajya Sabha proceedings where Treasury benches raised slogans against the Bihar Government, while in the Lok Sabha, a BJP MP termed the deaths “mass murder”.

In the Lok Sabha, the hooch deaths dominated the Zero Hour, when members can raise issues of national importance. BJP MP from Saran [where the hooch tragedy took place] Rajiv Pratap Rudy demanded that the Home Ministry send a team and seek a report from the Bihar Government. He claimed that the death toll in the tragedy had gone up to 52 and the numbers could further increase.

Sushil Kumar Singh, BJP MP from Aurangabad, termed the deaths “mass murder”.

‘Police involved’

Seeking immediate action, Sanjay Jaiswal, BJP MP from Pashchim Champaran, said, “It’s Bihar Government-sponsored murder. Spurious liquor is supplied to every household by the police, with the help and protection of the police in the State despite prohibition in place”.

Mr. Jaiswal said immediate action should taken against the Bihar Government and the State police force, who he alleged had made “hundreds of crores” in spurious liquor sales. “I urge the Central Government to take cognisance of the [prevailing] law and order situation and also take immediate action against the Mahagathbandhan Government of Bihar, which is responsible for the deaths [in hooch tragedy],” he said.

Some Opposition members pointed out there have been deaths in hooch tragedy in Uttar Pradesh also in the past, asking the BJP MPs why these incidents were not being highlighted in the House.

The Rajya Sabha proceedings began on a false note after Deputy Chairman Harivansh refused to allow notices given by seven members on various issues, on technical grounds saying that the members haven’t mentioned the rule which needs to be suspended. Countering this, Trinamool Parliamentary Party leader Derek O’ Brien cited three instances when notices under Rule 267 (provision to request Chairman to suspend listed business to deliberate separate issue) were taken up without any mention of the rule required for suspension of business.

This led to uproar, amidst which BJP MP Biplab Kumar Dev stood up to speak as part of the Zero Hour. Mr. Dev, who was supposed to speak on the ‘Need to reopen border-haat on Tripura-Bangladesh border’, instead started delivering a speech on the hooch tragedy. The Opposition sharply protested against Mr. Dev for switching the topic, forcing the first adjournment a little after 11 a.m. The House reassembled a few minutes later, but by then both Treasury benches and the Opposition had started competitive sloganeering. The Treasury benches raised slogans against the Bihar Government calling it a government of “murderers”. This chaos forced the third adjournment.