PATNA: Union Minister and LJP (RV) president Chirag Paswan on Friday called for a review of Bihar’s prohibition law, claiming the policy in its present form had failed to achieve its intended objective of curbing liquor consumption and the illegal liquor trade.
Talking to media persons, Chirag said reports of the sale, purchase and manufacture of liquor, including spurious liquor, continued to emerge from time to time despite the ban, indicating that the policy needed to be reassessed and strengthened.
“The objective of prohibition is not being fulfilled, and the law needs to be reviewed to make it more effective,” he told the media.
Chirag recalled that his party had supported the prohibition law when it was introduced in 2016, despite being in the opposition at the time. He, however, stressed the need for a fresh assessment of its implementation and greater public awareness about the harmful effects of alcohol consumption.
The LJP (Ram Vilas) is a constituent of the BJP-led NDA at both the Centre and in Bihar.
Chirag’s remarks came days after Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) leader and Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi criticised the implementation of prohibition in Bihar and called for enforcing the state’s liquor ban along the lines of the Gujarat model.
On the other hand, senior BJP leader and minister Dilip Jaiswal had recently ruled out any review of the prohibition law, alleging that the campaign against the ban was being driven by the “liquor mafia” and “liquor lovers”.
JD(U) MLA Neeraj Kumar also backed the BJP leader’s statement, saying that the question of reviewing the liquor ban, which was enforced during Nitish Kumar’s tenure, did not arise as it has had a positive impact on people, especially women.
Prohibition was implemented after taking all political parties into confidence and was duly approved by both Houses of the state legislature.
