Those who drink alcohol are not Indians; they are mahapapi, says Bihar CM Nitish Kumar

Patna (Bihar) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday called the people who drink alcohol are not Indian.
 
The Chief Minister said Mahatma Gandhi has also said that it is bad to drink alcohol and he who does not listen to Bapu is a great sinner. "I don't consider these people Indians... they are mahapapi," said Kumar.
 
Kumar was addressing the state legislative assembly over the issue of the multiple Hooch tragedies that reportedly took the lives of 37 people after drinking poisonous liquor on Holi.
 
Commenting on people who consume alcohol despite knowing it is harmful, he said, “It’s their fault. They consume liquor even after knowing that it could be toxic.”

New criteria to be called Indian. If you drink liquor, you are not Hindustani according to #Bihar CM #NitishKumar . pic.twitter.com/68bPNGO3VL

— Ashwani pathak (@Asvani_Pathak) March 31, 2022

Earlier on Wednesday, the Bihar Legislative Assembly passed the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2022 which empowers the state government to impose penalties for certain categories of offences instead of direct imprisonment.
 
After the amendment, the offender will be presented before a duty magistrate, which will decide the seriousness of the offence.
 
This is the third amendment in the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016. The first amendment to the act was brought in 2018 and then subsequently in 2020.