Union Minister Giriraj Singh and Bihar BJP MPs in New Delhi have raised the demand that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar take a second look at the State’s prohibition policy.
The immediate spur for the demand was the death of several persons who allegedly consumed spurious liquor in Bihar’s Saran district, according to the police on Wednesday. While the policy itself came under fire as the incident is one amid a series of such deaths, the rise in crime linked to the policy also came under attack.
Speaking outside Parliament, Mr. Singh said Mr. Kumar should convene an all-party meeting on the issue and take a decision accordingly. “If a policy is not successful, then it should be reconsidered,” he said. “Liquor has become like God in Bihar. Everybody knows it is there, but nobody can see it,” he added.
Personal prestige
Pataliputra MP and former Union Minister Ram Kripal Yadav echoed Mr. Singh’s view and said Mr. Kumar should not make prohibition a matter of personal prestige. “He should either implement it effectively or resign,” he added.
“Every day people in Bihar are dying due to spurious liquor while Mr. Kumar remains obstinate about his policy which has failed. Crime is on the rise,” Mr. Singh said.
He also slammed the Janata Dal (United) leader as Mr. Kumar flew into a rage over BJP members’ attack on his government in the Assembly over the deaths allegedly due to spurious liquor, saying this “tasteless” conduct showed his frustration as his hold on power had become more tenuous.
Mr. Kumar’s declaration that the ruling alliance will fight the next Assembly polls in 2025 under RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav had caused much heartburn within his own party while the Rashtriya Janata Dal had been pressuring him to pass on the mantle to its leader, the BJP leader said.
Mr. Yadav said the administrative system in Bihar had “sold out” to liquor mafia with a large section of young population turning to even more dangerous products to get a high.
Former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar and Rajya Sabha member Sushil Kumar Modi referred to Mr. Kumar’s rage in the Assembly as demonstrative of his “changed disposition.”
“The tenure of Nitish Kumar is over. He has lost his memory. He calls Prashant Kishor and BJP MLAs as ‘tu’, ‘tum’. It happened earlier as well. He loses his temper very often now. But his disposition was not like this before,” Mr. Modi said.
