Nitish dry law pitch in Rajasthan

Patna: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday took his pet scheme, prohibition, to Rajasthan.

Addressing his Janata Dal United’s Rajasthan unit workers at Kushalbag Maidan in the south Rajasthan district headquarters town of Banswara, Nitish devoted 30 minutes of his 45-minute speech on the benefits of the dry law he clamped on Bihar two years ago.

“People used to spend their hard-earned money on consuming liquor and there were always fights in house on the issue of drinking and women were at the receiving end as they used to face the brunt of alcoholism. But the women raised their voice against liquor and on the request of the women I implemented total prohibition in Bihar,” Nitish said.

He pointed out that Karpoori Thakur had also implemented prohibition when he was chief minister, but withdrawn it later.

Nitish claimed that before implementing total prohibition, he did his homework for almost four years by making people aware about the ill-effects of the liquor.

He recounted how he took the decision to implement total prohibition when the demand was made by women in a programme at Patna’s SK Memorial hall.

He recalled how on July 9, 2015 he had made the promise on public demand that if he would be voted back, he would make Bihar a dry state.

“There are a few people who think that drinking liquor is their right and they see it (prohibition) as violation of their liberty,” he added. “I must say that drinking liquor is not something to be taken as a fundamental right. There are more things to drink. Drink milk, sherbet, and water. Poor people were badly hit by liquor and today they are living a good life and the poor people have benefited the most,” Nitish said.

He also claimed that there is no loss of the revenue after clamping total prohibition on Bihar.

He declared that his government is doing excellent work in every sector such as education, health, and electricity.

Nitish was accompanied by JDU national general secretary Sanjay Jha and Rajya Sabha member Hairvansh, JDU national general secretary and Rajasthan unit in-charge Akhilesh Katiyar, and Rajasthan JDU president Daulatram Paisiya.

Nitish was addressing the JDU workers ahead of the Rajasthan Assembly election, which is due this year. However, he chose to focus on total prohibition and its “success” in Bihar.

The JDU had fielded candidates in the recent Karnataka Assembly election from 28 seats but could not win a single seat. The same thing had happened in last year’s Gujarat Assembly election. The JDU also won one seat in the Nagaland Assembly election.

RJD leaders have alleged that the JDU fields candidates to eat away anti-BJP votes.

The day Nitish chanted the benefits of total prohibition, the Rajasthan excise department’s latest data said that beer sales have shot up by 19 per cent due to the scorching heat in the desert state.

Courtesy: The Telegraph