Liquor ban will remain in Bihar, says CM Nitish Kumar

Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has once again said that the liquor ban will continue in the state in the larger interest of society.

The statement of Nitish Kumar came at a time when the opposition BJP claimed that the state government is losing revenue in crores due to the liquor ban. Kumar's alliance partners Jitan Ram Manjhi, patron of Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and Ajit Sharma, CLP leader of the Congress party, also demanded the withdrawal of this law.

"Apart from a few untoward incidents, liquor ban has benefitted by and large in the society. The women benefited greatly from it. Domestic violence against women has come down drastically ever since the liquor ban was imposed in April 2016," Kumar said.

"After drinking liquor, people become evil. We have imposed liquor ban on the demand of women of the state and consensus of every political party. It has benefitted a large section of society. Hence, it will continue here," Kumar said.

The Nitish Kumar government is facing criticism over the lax implementation of the liquor ban in Bihar. Liquor is available easily in the state. There have also been a large number of liquor tragedies in the state in which hundreds of people have died or lost their eyesight after consuming spurious liquor.

The opposition leaders accused the Nitish Kumar government that a parallel economy of Rs 20, 000 crore was running in Bihar with the nexus of the liquor mafia, police personnel and bureaucrats. It was only the poor people who become victims of this law, they claimed.