Patna: Bihar’s opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav has marked a decade since the introduction of the state’s alcohol prohibition law by describing it as a “complete failure” and alleging the emergence of a massive illicit liquor economy.
In a post on X, Yadav, the Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar assembly, questioned the state government over what he called the collapse of the policy’s objectives and asked who should be held responsible for its implementation.
शराबबंदी की विफलता का दोषी कौन? मेरे सवालों, तर्कों और तथ्यों का जवाब दें।
शराबबंदी क़ानून को लागू किए कल 𝟏𝟎 वर्ष पूर्ण हुए लेकिन यह शासन-प्रशासन और शराब माफिया के नापाक मजबूत गठजोड़ की बदौलत यह क़ानून अपने उद्देश्य की पूर्ति में एकदम विफल रहा।
शराबबंदी नीतीश कुमार का सबसे…
— Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) April 6, 2026
He claimed the prohibition regime had enabled a parallel illegal economy worth around Rs 40,000 crore, alleging collusion between sections of the administration and liquor smugglers. Yadav described the situation as chief minister Nitish Kumar’s “biggest institutional corruption”.
Citing official enforcement figures, he said more than 1.1 million cases had been registered under the prohibition law, with over 1.6 million arrests made and more than 50 million litres of alcohol seized since the policy came into force. He added that more than 20 million litres had been seized in the past five years alone, averaging over 11,000 litres a day.
Yadav argued that the scale of seizures indicated widespread consumption despite the ban, and called on the government to publish consumption data alongside enforcement figures to present a clearer picture of alcohol use in the state.
He further alleged that the illegal trade in alcohol and other intoxicants had continued to expand, warning of rising substance abuse among young people. He also questioned how supply chains for illicit liquor were still functioning despite the prohibition regime, and why stronger action had not been taken against those operating them.
The opposition leader claimed that poorer communities, including Dalits and backward classes, were disproportionately targeted in enforcement drives carried out under the law.
He also referred to critical observations made by the Supreme Court regarding aspects of the policy’s implementation, arguing that enforcement has focused on arrests rather than dismantling trafficking networks.
Yadav called for strict action against officials allegedly involved in corruption linked to the enforcement of prohibition, and renewed his demand for accountability from the state government.
