Nitish: nitishs U-turn On Hooch Deathrelief Under Political Compulsion
Nitish & Tejashwi among GA leaders attend iftar party
Image used for representational purpose only.
PATNA: Now that chief minister Nitish Kumar has finally announced monetary compensation to the families of hooch death victims, the question being hotly debated in the political circles is what compelled him to soften his stand since the total prohibition was imposed seven years back? The announcement comes close on the heels of
Nitish
publicly stating, Jo piyega, woh marega (those who drink spurious liquor will die).
Incidentally, the prohibition was enforced in April 2016 when Nitish headed the
Mahagathbandhan
government. Its under the same government when he has displayed abrupt volte-face. According to the data provided by the state government to the Bihar assembly, a total of 7.49 lakh people were arrested under the prohibition law till January this year, literally flooding the already crammed state prisons.
Although Nitish claimed he took this decision apparently moved by the pains of the people from economically weaker sections dying from consuming spurious liquor, sources close to him said the CM was compelled to change his stand owing to strong resentment griping the masses over easy availability of liquor and the way hooch tragedies have emerged as a new disaster in the dry state. Further, the people are feeling the pinch of this prohibition law with thousands of persons earning livelihood through brewing and selling toddy, facing severe unemployment crisis, sources said, ultimately forcing the CM to give some relief to the affected families before the issue adversely impact the ruling coalition in the crucial 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
We had alerted the government to make the law more practical and enforce total de-addiction, rather than total prohibition. The result is frequent hooch tragedies in the state, which seems becoming a centre of drugs, Bihar assembly opposition leader Vijay Kumar Sinha of BJP said. He said the government was compelled to take U-turn owing to strong anger prevailing among the masses which could lead to political disaster for him in the coming polls.
The prohibition and excise department minister Sunil Kumar didnt take up calls but JD(U) national general secretary Rajib Ranjan denied any dilution in the CMs stand. The CM still has a zero-tolerance policy towards liquor. He announced compensation to the victim families only after noticing that the deaths had been driving the surviving members to the brink of starvation. This is just to help the victim families, Ranjan said.
Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), which always complained the poor had been the worst victims of liquor laws, welcomed the decision. The people died from consuming spurious liquor but how are their families guilty? asked HAM(S) spokesperson Amarendra Tripathi, adding the decision was taken only due to HAM(S)s constant pressure. He said the poor remained the main target of liquor law and majority of those sent to jails under this law too were the same set of people.
Former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi said they were not against the total prohibition, but it needed to be implemented properly. Majority of persons arrested under liquor law are from the poor community, he said.
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Thursday, April 20, 2023 at 4:43 am