Chirag calls for review of Bihar's liquor prohibition law

Patna, Mar 1 (PTI) Union minister Chirag Paswan on Sunday stressed the need to review Bihar's decade-old liquor prohibition law, saying its implementation should be "tightened" by identifying and plugging loopholes.

Speaking to reporters in Patna, Paswan said the law must be assessed to determine whether it has achieved the objectives for which it was enacted.

"There is a need to review whether the objective with which the law was enacted is being fulfilled, and if not, the loopholes need to be traced and fixed," he said.

Paswan clarified that calling for a review should not be misconstrued as advocating the withdrawal of prohibition.

"When we talk about review, there is often a misconception that we are talking about lifting the ban. I believe that for any scheme to improve over time, it needs to be continuously reviewed," he said.

Paswan, who is the national president of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), said he fully supports efforts to curb alcoholism, noting that addiction adversely affects families and society.

He recalled that when the JD(U) government led by Nitish Kumar introduced prohibition, his party supported the move despite being in the opposition at the time.

"The idea of prohibiting liquor consumption and manufacturing is socially appropriate," he said.

However, Paswan pointed to recurring deaths caused by the consumption of spurious liquor and allegations of "home delivery" of alcohol in the state.

"Every now and then, we hear about deaths caused by spurious liquor. If such incidents are still happening, it means poisonous liquor is being manufactured somewhere," he said.

Paswan maintained that these concerns warrant a comprehensive review of the law’s enforcement mechanism to plug gaps and ensure its intended impact.

During the Budget session of the Bihar assembly, LJP(RV) MLA Madhav Anand had also demanded a review of the prohibition policy. While leaders of the JD(U) ruled out any reconsideration of the law, reactions from the BJP have been mixed so far. PTI SUK SOM