Bihar minister Sunil Kumar said the liquor ban was a policy decision of the state government after it was passed unanimously by both houses of the state legislature and cannot be taken back.
Alcoholism is a very sensitive topic. Any government thinks many times before taking any decision on this subject. From tax point of view it is an important source of earning for the government. At the same time, this is an emotional issue for people. That’s why Nitish Kumar in Bihar had announced this on the demand of women. There is a lot of politics on this issue now. However, amidst all this, Manipur is a state where the prohibition law has been abolished. After this, demand has started rising in Bihar also.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Manipur has decided to lift the ban on liquor after more than 30 years. The Cabinet has reformed the liquor policy to increase state revenue and stop the supply of poisonous liquor. The Manipur cabinet led by Chief Minister N Biren Singh has approved the manufacture, production, possession, export, import, transportation, purchase, sale and consumption of liquor in the state after more than 30 years of prohibition.
Let us tell you that earlier in September 2022, the ban on liquor was partially removed. Sale and consumption of liquor in district headquarters, hotels with minimum 20 beds as well as export of locally made country liquor was allowed.
As soon as the prohibition law was abolished in Manipur, demand for the same started in Bihar also. The Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC) has once again appealed to the Bihar government to lift the complete ban on liquor in the state, like the decision of the Manipur government. CIABC Director General Vinod Giri issued a statement on Wednesday saying the Manipur government has taken a positive step by ending the more than three decade long prohibition. This will not only generate Rs 600-700 crore as annual tax revenue, but will also help in tackling the menace of illicit liquor sale and drug proliferation.
In this matter, Bihar’s Prohibition and Excise Minister Sunil Kumar said that the liquor ban was a policy decision of the state government after it was passed unanimously by both the houses of the state legislature and it cannot be withdrawn.
Manjhi’s promise – If government is formed then prohibition law will be removed
Complete prohibition is in force in Bihar since 2016. However, even after this, many cases of people dying due to poisonous liquor have been coming to light. On this pretext, the opposition continues to attack the Nitish government. Recently, former Chief Minister of Bihar Jitan Manjhi had called prohibition a failure. He had claimed that 80 percent of the people who are in jail due to this law are people from Dalit community.
Along with this, Jitan Ram Manjhi had claimed that if our government comes, we will implement this law on the lines of Gujarat or abolish this law completely. He said that the survey being conducted by the Prohibition Department will again show that prohibition is successful. Like the caste survey, this too will be false.
