Patna: With the Bihar Assembly elections looming, Union minister and Hindustan Awam Morcha – Secular (HAM-S) patron Jitan Ram Manjhi has reignited the debate on the state’s liquor ban, urging Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to end cases filed against those caught with small amounts of alcohol.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Manjhi — a key ally in the ruling NDA — said the government should focus its crackdown on liquor mafias producing and smuggling alcohol on a large scale, instead of sending ordinary drinkers to jail.
“When the liquor ban was reviewed for the third time, the Chief Minister himself had said that if a person is carrying a small amount of liquor for drinking, he should not be caught. The government should act on his words,” Manjhi said. He demanded that all pending cases against people booked for minor liquor offences be scrapped before the polls.
The HAM leader alleged that police were shielding large-scale smugglers while arresting poor people to maintain statistics. “The police release big liquor traders to hide their sins and arrest the poor just for formality,” he said.
Manjhi insisted that Nitish Kumar launch an intensive campaign against liquor syndicates, claiming the current implementation was unfair and undermined the credibility of prohibition.
