Lalu asks Nitish Kumar to roll back liquor prohibition law in Bihar

Following a series of raids on hotels and banquet halls to catch the liquor ban violators, RJP president Lalu Prasad on Monday asked chief minister Nitish Kumar to withdraw the liquor prohibition law.

"I already told Nitish Kumar that liquor operations cannot stop in Bihar. Hundreds of deaths due to poisonous liquor are examples of it. Hence, it is better for him to roll back the law and avoid the loss of state revenue," Lalu Prasad said.

"The state administration has completely failed to stop the operations of the liquor mafias. Nitish Kumar, on the other hand, is sending police into the rooms of women to search for liquor," Lalu Prasad said.

"In 2016, Nitish Kumar came to my house and said that he was going to ban liquor in the state. I told him that implementation of banning liquor in the state is not easy. Smuggling of liquor would increase in Bihar as adjoining Nepal, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh are non-dry states. Nitish Kumar had ignored my suggestions and implemented the law," Lalu Prasad said.

When asked about Nitish Kumar's claim that all parties supported him during the implementation of the liquor ban, Lalu Prasad said that he and his party did not support the hundreds of deaths due to the liquor ban. We have not supported the home delivery of liquor. Why does anyone support him when he is taking the decision to send male cops into women's rooms, Lalu Prasad said.

Meanwhile Nitish Kumar claimed that the people of Bihar are happy with these continuous raids of the police.

--IANS

ajk/bg