Ruling party Janata Dal (United) leader and party’s Parliamentary Board chairman Upendra Kushwaha has said that prohibition has been unsuccessful in Bihar and society has to come forward to make it “successful”.
Liquor has been banned in Bihar since April 5, 2016.
A couple of days ago, ruling ally Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) leader and former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi had said that the government should not take action against those consuming a “quarter of liquor bottle”.
Recently, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had held a marathon review meeting with top officials in Patna “to ensure effective implementation of prohibition” in the State and had passed necessary instructions.
“Instead of going after people who are caught in an inebriated condition, state excise and police department officials should give thrust on apprehending liquor suppliers, smugglers and traders active in the state”, Mr. Kumar told officials.
Meanwhile, his party leader and Parliamentary Board chairman Upendra Kushwaha apparently embarrassed the government, saying “prohibition has failed in Bihar and the society has to come forward to make it successful”.
“Prohibition will not be successful, unless people of the state want it. The society should come forward to make prohibition successful. It cannot be successful just because government wants it”, Mr Kushwaha told media persons on Thursday.
He also added, “though prohibition law has not been a success in Bihar society has benefited immensely through it as fewer people consume liquor today and as a result there are fewer crimes”.
Earlier, while addressing a party meeting in New Delhi, Mr. Manjhi, while seeking a review of the prohibition policy in the State, had alleged, “the government rarely takes any action against the powerful liquor mafias but it arrests only poor people who consume a quarter of the bottle”
“Only the poor are being caught and harassed. Seventy percent of the people who are being caught under the new prohibition law are poor”, said Mr. Manjhi while adding, “the breath analyzer test often gives wrong results due to which poor people are caught and face humiliation”.
Reacting over ruling party leaders comment on prohibition, Opposition BJP leader Nikhil Anand said, “both are senior leaders of ruling allies. It is true that prohibition has been a failure in the state and crime has increased. People are suffering because of parallel economy and crime in the state which has increased because of prohibition”.
Under the new Bihar Prohibition and Excise laws’ 2016 prohibition in the State had become effective since April 5 2016 and since then a huge quantity of illegal liquor has been seized in the State and over 3.5 lakh people have been arrested for violation of new strict prohibition laws.
The State government, though, has continuously made amendments in strict provisions of liquor laws to implement it effectively in the State.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, however, has often asserted that “as long as he was the CM, prohibition will continue in the state”.
