Breaking his silence on the hooch tragedy in Bihar’s Saran district, chief minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday said ‘those who consume liquor will die’.
“Piyoge to maroge (if you drink you will die),” Nitish said on Thursday reiterating the importance of enforcing the state’s liquor ban. He said 31 have already died so far in the unfortunate tragedy and strongly urged people to refrain from drinking alcohol.
Also Read:Bihar minister urges people to ‘give up’ drinking after hooch tragedy kills 17
Speaking to the reporters on the sidelines of a function, the CM said, “Last time, when people died due to spurious liquor, someone said they should be compensated. If someone consumes liquor, they’ll die. The example is before us. This should be condoled, those places should be visited and people be explained.”
He added, “People should remain alert as something spurious will be sold to them.”
The sale and consumption of alcohol were banned in Bihar by the Nitish Kumar government in April 2016.
“The liquor ban has benefited several. A large number of people have given up alcohol and the majority have supported it. Several people have happily accepted this,” Nitish said.
“I’ve told officers that they shouldn’t nab poor. There are some troublemakers who should be identified and arrested,” the chief minister said.
“The government is ready to give ₹1 Lakh to people to start their work. If required, we’ll raise the amount but nobody should get involved in this business. People manufacturing liquor and carrying out alcohol business should be caught immediately,” he added.
The incident led to an uproar in the assembly on Wednesday with the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) terming it a “complete failure of the liquor prohibition”. Congress too demanded a review of the prohibition.
On Thursday, not only the state assembly, the matter reverberated in the Rajya Sabha too leading to its adjournment thrice within 40 minutes as the opposition slammed the Bihar government over the incident.
Stepping up its attack on Nitish for failed prohibition and his “jo peeyega wo marega” statement, the BJP termed the chief minister’s remarks insensitive and said that the CM has got derailed as he is trying to defend the indefensible.
“He is only interested in clinging on to his chair. He has become insensitive by resorting to comparisons when affected people and families need support,” said leader of opposition Vijay Kumar Sinha in the assembly on Thursday.
Sinha said that the BJP was always in support of the prohibition, “..but not the way it was being implemented to encourage a parallel economy of black money through an unabated supply of liquor.”
Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi who also raised the Masrakh tragedy in the Rajya Sabha slammed Nitish and said the CM was in utter frustration and trying to escape from responsibility.
He alleged, “Nearly 40 persons have lost their lives and the CM does not want the opposition to raise the issue in the House. The way he reacted in the House showed his helplessness. He must review prohibition as it has failed, it is visible to everyone.”
On Wednesday, Nitish lost his cool in the assembly and snapped at opposition MLAs who targeted the government over prohibition in the state.
BJP state president Dr Sanjay Jaiswal said that prohibition is implemented but the chief minister has failed to ensure it.
“After such incidents, the statement of the CM is like rubbing salt into the wound. He should accept that his own police have failed him. Suspending a few cops will not serve any purpose as the booty is shared up to the top level. If he has failed to ensure prohibition, he should accept it,” he added.
Following the incident and failure to nab the accused, station house officer (SHO) Ritesh Mishra and constable Vikesh Tiwari were suspended with immediate effect by the state.
Meanwhile, union minister Giriraj Singh said that Nitish should resign, as he was unable to govern.
“What happened in Masrakh and the way the CM has been trying to justify failed prohibition shows his mindset. Nobody wanted it to become a source of so many deaths due to the government’s inability to walk the talk,” said Giriraj Singh.
Saran MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy said an unbridled supply of spurious liquor in his constituency was playing with the lives of the poor. “Nitish Kumar’s prohibition has flopped. He cannot put the blame for his own governance failures on others after so many deaths. It has not happened for the first time. It is developing a disconcerting pattern,” he added.
