JD(U) demands total prohibition in Odisha

JD(U) today demanded that the BJD government of Odisha announce complete prohibition in the state, where the "rural economy is shattered" due to liquor.
A total ban on liquor is essential for a poor state like Odisha. Prohibition would substantially improve the quality of life of poverty-stricken families, senior JD(U) leader K C Tyagi said.
Asserting that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik should emulate his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar and ban liquor in Odisha, he said if prohibition is enforced, the poor people who waste huge amount on liquor would be able to utilise the money on healthcare and education.
Rejecting the contention that prohibition would cause huge loss of revenue, Tyagi said though Bihar government faced annual revenue loss of over Rs 4,500 crore due to liquor ban, the benefit in terms of social impact is worth thousands of crores of rupees.

If prohibition is enforced, the crime graph would also decline, as in case of Bihar, the JD(U)'s Rajya Sabha member said, adding Nitish would attend an anti-liquor convention at Cuttack, the date of which would be finalised soon.
The convention is being organised by several women's organisations and tribal groups engaged in anti-liquor movement who had requested Nitish Kumar to attend the meet. Leaders of different political parties would also be invited to the convention, he said.
Slamming the BJP-led NDA regime at the Centre, Tyagi claimed the Narendra Modi government's performance during the last two years has been "dismal" as its "neo-liberal economic policy" has "destroyed the rural economy" and drastically reduced job opportunities in the country.

"Parties like BJD must make their stand clear instead of posing as neutral because a united action is needed to take on BJP," he added.