PATNA: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav on Sunday dropped ample hints that Bihar’s prohibition law could be reviewed if the Opposition INDIA bloc formed the next government in the state after the forthcoming Assembly election, scheduled to be held in October–November.
Complete prohibition was imposed in Bihar on 5 April 2016, when the Grand Alliance led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was in power. While the JD(U) leader headed the government, Tejashwi served as the deputy chief minister.
In 2018, the Bihar government relaxed certain provisions of the prohibition law, including sealing of premises where liquor bottles were found and seizing the house or vehicles of anyone allegedly found drunk.
Tejashwi said that the issue would be discussed with the people and government officials, as a decision would be taken based on their feedback. “An issue should be discussed if it is questioned,” he asserted.
Tejashwi is not the only one in favour of abolishing prohibition in Bihar. Jan Suraaj Party founder and political activist Prashant Kishor also promised the people that his party would scrap the prohibition law within an hour of forming the government in the state.
Kishor said that since liquor was available in abundance everywhere, be it in towns or villages, prohibition should be abolished. He pointed out that the state had incurred a huge loss of revenue due to the ban. He further said the law was not being enforced strictly, which had allegedly led to large-scale bootlegging.
Taking a dig at the state’s double-engine government, with the NDA in power both at the Centre and in the state, Tejashwi said, “One engine of the government is engaged in corruption, the other in crime. Criminals are running the government. Criminals have become Vijay and Samrat,” he remarked, in an oblique attack on the two deputy chief ministers — Vijay Kumar Sinha and Samrat Chaudhary.
“Gang rapes are being committed in ambulances, firing is going on in broad daylight, more than 100 murders have been committed in a week. No action is being taken,” he alleged.
Targeting the Nitish government over the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG)’s report for allegedly failing to submit utilisation certificates for projects worth ₹70,877 crore, the former deputy chief minister claimed that a scam of such a whopping amount had been detected, alleging that “this government was of the corrupt, of the criminals.”