PATNA: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar may convene an all-party meeting soon to review the state's prohibition act and explore the possibilities of relaxing the law further.
Former Bihar chief minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) founder Jitan Ram Manjhi, who has been consistently demanding relaxations in the prohibition law, gave an indication of it during his interaction with mediapersons. HAM is an ally of the ruling grand alliance in the state.
Manjhi said that the poor were suffering mostly due to the enforcement of the law as they were languishing in jails due to the whimsical ways of government officials.
“During the all-party meeting, my suggestion will be that liquor consumers should not be imprisoned for more than two or two and half months,” he remarked.
At least 70 percent of people who have been put behind bars are from the financially weaker section of society.
Bihar government has been under attack from various quarters for the poor implementation of the prohibition law as even the Supreme Court had criticised it as the state's courts were clogged with around 3.5 lakh prohibition-related cases.
Bihar assembly had unanimously passed the prohibition and excise bill in 2016, imposing a liquor ban in the state but the smuggling of liquor from neighbouring states continued unabated.
Big suppliers of liquor stay off the police dragnet in a majority of cases, resulting in poor enforcement of prohibition in the state even as boozers, mostly from weaker sections of society and bootleggers are being put behind bars.
Under the Opposition's pressure and also that of HAM, the Bihar government gave some relaxation to first-time offenders who will now have to pay a fine before a magistrate and won’t be sent to jail. If the accused is unable to pay the fine, he will be sent to one month’s simple imprisonment.
Bihar government has decided to give compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the families of those who died due to drinking spurious liquor. District magistrates have been directed to collect data on hooch deaths since the imposition of prohibition in the state and also to identify eligible families for compensation.
Meanwhile, the issue of prohibition had its echo in the convention of former union minister Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal (RLJD) where Kushwaha`s wife Snehlata supported Nitish`s prohibition. She supported the prohibition from the dais, causing embarrassing moments not only for her husband but also for the party's leaders and workers.
Kushwaha had recently formed RLJD after revolting against Nitish for declaring deputy chief minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav as his political successor.
Snehlata said that instead of claiming that prohibition had failed in the state, party leaders and workers should create public awareness against liquor prohibition.