Patna: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MLA Kumar Sarvjit has demanded the repeal of Bihar’s liquor ban law, arguing that it has failed to curb alcohol smuggling and has instead led to widespread corruption and the exploitation of the poor. Speaking in the Bihar Assembly on Wednesday, he launched a strong attack on the Nitish Kumar-led government over the issue, suggesting that if the police are unable to stop illegal liquor trade, the law should be scrapped and replaced with a new one.
During the budget session, Sarvjit criticized the government for its handling of prohibition, stating that when the law was first introduced, RJD had supported it without fully understanding its implications. He highlighted the rising number of deaths due to illicit liquor consumption and presented statistics on fatalities over the years.
Sarvjit accused the police and prohibition department officials of extorting money under the guise of enforcing the ban. “The poor are being deliberately targeted in liquor cases, while police stations are collecting Rs 5-10 lakh every month in bribes,” he alleged. He claimed that home delivery of alcohol was rampant and that liquor was available across the state despite the ban.
“We did not support prohibition to send the poor and Dalits to jail or to exploit them,” Sarvjit said, calling for an alternative policy. He pointed out that Gujarat also has a prohibition law but questioned its effectiveness.
In a direct challenge to Bihar’s Prohibition Minister, Ratnesh Sada, the RJD MLA invited him to accompany him to a village. “Come with me on a motorcycle in the evening. If you don’t see a line of a thousand motorcycles waiting for liquor after 6 pm, I will stop attending the Assembly,” he said.
Sarvjit further distanced RJD from the failures of the prohibition policy, stating that the party had supported the Nitish Kumar government’s initiative in good faith. “We should not be made partners in this wrongdoing,” he said.
