Tejashwi sceptical of proposed amendment in Bihar prohibition law

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday claimed that the proposed amendment in Bihar’s prohibition law, offering exemption from jail term to those who inform on their suppliers after getting drunk, could be flagrantly misused for settling personal scores.

The proposed amendment received the Cabinet nod on Tuesday and is likely to come into force after it is passed by the legislature.

Yadav, who is the leader of the opposition in the assembly, sneered when he was asked about the amendment by journalists.

Pointing towards his senior party colleague Alok Mehta, he said suppose Alok ji gets drunk and he has been nursing a grouse against me, he can falsely claim before the police that he has been supplied liquor by Tejashwi.

Amid peals of laughter, he continued this ridiculous amendment is vulnerable to such misuse. It is appalling that this government is unable to mend its ways even though it has been repeatedly rebuked by the judiciary.

Speculations are rife that the proposed amendment has been mooted following Chief Justice of India N Ramanna having expressed displeasure over the state’s prohibition law leading to clogging of courts with bail petitions.

The sale and consumption of liquor was completely banned in the state by the Nitish Kumar government in 2016 when incidentally Yadav was his deputy.

Nonetheless, implementation of prohibition has remained questionable and there have been allegations that those with pockets deep enough were getting liquor delivered to their homes while the poor were either getting booked for violating the law or dying upon consumption of hooch.

More than 50 persons have died in the state in the last few months after consumption of spurious

liquor.

The chief minister has vowed to crack down on bootleggers with an iron hand, calling for surveillance with the help of drones, sniffer dogs, and helicopters.

However, Yadav said the government was simply busy diverting public attention towards non-issues so that questions were not asked about the state’s dismal track record about job creation, education, and health.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

We, however, have a request.

As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.

Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.

Digital Editor