Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar now has called those who oppose Mahatma Gandhi’s principles against liquor consumption as “not Indians, ‘mahapaapi’ (biggest sinners) and ‘maha ayogya’ (most ineligible)”.
He also ruled out providing any relief to those who die in hooch tragedies in dry Bihar.
Of late, Mr. Kumar has been attacked by Opposition parties for bad implementation of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016. Over 200 people in the State have died in the last one year in different hooch incidents.
“Mahatma Gandhi Opposed liquor consumption and I consider those who go against Bapu’s principles as not Indians, ‘mahapaapi’ (biggest sinners) and ‘maha ayogya’ (most ineligible). ‘Yogya to woh ho hi nahi sakte…unke liye koi sahanubhuti nahi’ [they cannot be eligible in any way..for them there is no sympathy]”, he said after the Bihar Assembly introduced and passed an amendment bill of the Prohibition and Excise Act 2016, on March 30 which makes the liquor laws less stringent for first-time offenders.
The Bill passed in Assembly proposed to relax some of the stringent provisions by replacing imprisonment with fine for the first-time or non-habitual offenders, failing which they would have to serve one month simple imprisonment.
For those who died in hooch incidents, Mr. Kumar was more curt. “It’s their fault to drink liquor even after knowing that it is banned and could be toxic. There should be no relief for such people”, he said while responding to Opposition parties ‘ allegations that hooch incidents were happening regularly in as the government had failed to ban it effectively.
Recently, the Supreme Court too had expressed concern over liquor laws in Bihar which had “clogged” the functioning of the lowers courts in the State with number of cases related with it.
