“If You Drink, You’ll Die,” Says Nitish Kumar, Slammed Over Toxic Liquor Deaths

Share with your friends

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today rejected the possibility of giving compensation to the families of those killed by spurious liquor, and said people should be “more vigilant” when the state anyway has prohibition since 2016.

Over 30 people have died in Saran district in the most recent tragedy, and the JDU-RJD government has been facing protests by the BJP in the assembly and outside over alleged laxity in implementing prohibition.

“Jo sharaab peeyega, wo toh marega hi na… Udaharan saamne hai — peeyoge toh maroge. (Those who drunk liquor will obviously die. We have an example in this case),” Mr Kumar said in Hindi in response to a question in Patna, referring to demands of compensation in earlier cases.

In the Vidhan Sabha earlier this week, Nitish Kumar lost his composure over the demonstrations and made fun of the BJP members by saying, “You are inebriated.”

He stated today that it is important to show grief and then educate the public by visiting the impacted areas. “We have conducted extensive social awareness campaigns.”

He argued that hazardous alcohol killed people even when there was no prohibition. He continued, “People have also passed away in significant numbers in other states.”

Similar deaths have recently occurred in Punjab and Gujarat, two states that have prohibition laws.

“You know what Bapu (Mahatma Gandhi) has said (in favour of prohibition), and what research across the world shows — all of that has been sent to people’s homes — about how liquor is a bad thing, how many people die because of it. People have been dying of toxic (spurious) liquor since long, and it happens across the country,” he said.

“We have taken strict action, but people need to be more vigilant. When there’s prohibition, the liquor being sold will obviously have something wrong in it,” he further said.

“Also, remember, you should not drink liquor anyway. Most people have agreed with the prohibition policy. But some people will make mistakes,” he argued.

Minister Sunil Kumar has, meanwhile, said the government will take strict action against those responsible for the deaths.

Currently, there are just two sizable states with prohibition: Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Bihar. Mizoram and Nagaland both share similar laws with a few exceptions.

States like Kerala in the south and Haryana in the north have tried the programme over the years but had to abandon it, primarily due of implementation issues.


Share with your friends

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Minister for School Education Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi
Latest

Increased Enrollment in Tamil Nadu Government Schools: Success of ‘Pudhumai Penn’ Scheme and 7.5% Reservation

Share with your friends

Share with your friendsThe Minister stated that there have been approximately 11 lakh new enrollments in government schools over the past two years. Introduction The School Education Minister of Tamil Nadu, Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, recently highlighted the success of the ‘Pudhumai Penn’ scheme and the 7.5% reservation for government school students in professional courses. These […]


Share with your friends
Read More
IIT Jodhpur and Jodhpur City Knowledge and Innovation Foundation (JCKIF) launch training programmes for Government e-Marketplace (GeM) and General Financial Rules (GFR) 2017
Latest

IIT Jodhpur and Jodhpur City Knowledge and Innovation Foundation (JCKIF) launch training programmes for Government e-Marketplace (GeM) and General Financial Rules (GFR) 2017

Share with your friends

Share with your friendsIIT Jodhpur and Jodhpur City Knowledge and Innovation Foundation (JCKIF) launch JODHPUR,02-June-2023:Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpurand Jodhpur City Knowledge and Innovation Foundation (JCKIF), an initiative of the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, are proud to announce the launch of two specialized training programmes aimed at equipping […]


Share with your friends
Read More
Balaji Telefilms Limited Posts 76% Growth in Full – Year Revenues, Turnaround Gathers Momentum, Turns EBITDA Positive in H2FY23
Latest

Balaji Telefilms Limited Posts 76% Growth in Full – Year Revenues, Turnaround Gathers Momentum, Turns EBITDA Positive in H2FY23

Share with your friends

Share with your friendsSecond Consecutive Quarter Of Positive EBITDA Margin Improvement, ALTT Contracts Losses By Two-Third, Turnaround Gathers Momentum 2 June 2023: Balaji Telefilms Limited records EBITDA profit for the second consecutive quarter ending March 31, 2023. Each of the three key verticals, TV production, Digital (ALTT), and movies has delivered strong performance during the quarter […]


Share with your friends
Read More