Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi has once again questioned the implementation of Bihar’s prohibition policy. While describing the policy itself as sound, he asserted that the poor are the worst affected and that the illegal liquor trade is on the rise.
Speaking to the media in Patna on Sunday, he said that the prohibition policy is not wrong in principle, but there are serious flaws in its implementation on the ground.
A day after the formation of the new government, Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) MLA Madhav Anand met the Chief Minister and strongly demanded an end to prohibition.
This was followed by JD(U) MLA from Mokama, Anant Singh, who met Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary on Friday and emphasised the need to scrap the ban.
However, Choudhary has affirmed that the state’s decade-old prohibition law, introduced by Nitish Kumar, will continue.
Despite this, Manjhi has renewed his call for improving the implementation of the law. He said the poorest sections are bearing the brunt of the policy, with many getting entangled in police action and legal complications, weakening their economic and social condition.
At the same time, he noted that despite prohibition, the illegal liquor trade continues to flourish across the state.
He also alleged that liquor mafias are producing spurious alcohol by mixing urea and other harmful chemicals, resulting in deaths among poor people at a young age.
Manjhi expressed hope that the new government would review the prohibition law and address its shortcomings. He stressed that fixing these flaws is essential to boost state revenue and provide relief to the poor from unnecessary hardships.