Nitish's party MLA questions liquor ban

PATNA: Amid growing demand for its review, his own party legislator Dr Sanjeev Kumar questioned chief minister Nitish Kumar's prohibition law on Tuesday, terming it a "complete failure". He also sought its review to check continuing repression of Dalits and Extremely Backward Castes (EBC) people in the name of its implementation. This is probably the first time that the chief minister has faced such demand from his own party MLA.
"We need to review the law again," Parbatta MLA Dr Sanjeev told newsmen on the state assembly premises on the first day of the winter session. He said most of the 4 lakh people sent to jail under liquor law are the poor who were unable to pay the heavy penalty imposed on them whereas the influential and well-off people managed to escape jail due to money power.
"What was considered 'good' till yesterday has now become a 'criminal offence'. While the people are constantly refusing to accept it, the misuse of the law by the police has become a matter of serious concern," the legislator said. He alleged that large consignments of liquor are regularly reaching the state due to nexus of police and mafias. He said the ban can't be successful unless it has the support of the common men.
The demand comes barely three days after the chief minister, while addressing the JD(U)'s national council meeting here, strongly defended his decision saying it was enforced with the consent of all the parties. He even mocked the review demand coming from Congress.
The Grand Alliance partners are now putting pressure on the government to remove the ban on toddy saying it is a "natural juice" and lakhs of poor have been left jobless and struggling for survival due to the ban. "Liquor ban is fine but toddy ban needs to be reviewed since lakhs of poor families have been associated with the traditional business for long," RJD MLA from Bochaha, Amar Paswan, told the media.
Former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi had also raised similar concern over the toddy ban and urged the chief minister to remove it from the list of intoxicants. "My personal opinion is that toddy should not have been banned. It is a natural juice and lakhs of people are associated with the toddy business," Manjhi had said recently.
Toddy ban is being said to be one of the major factors behind the defeat of the JD(U) candidate in the recent Kurhani bypoll as the angry voters from Pasi community and other Dalit villagers associated with toddy business voted for BJP in protest.