No one wants prohibition in Bihar, except Nitish Kumar

When chief minister Nitish Kumar enforced prohibition in Bihar earlier this year, many considered it to be a decision taken in haste.

Regardless of his reputation as a leader who would fight shy of taking any decision impulsively, they felt that he had taken a gamble without bothering about its consequences.

It is, however, clear that Kumar decided to enforce prohibition after weighing the pros and cons of his move.

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None of his important decisions in the past, be it his split with the BJP over Narendra Modi, or his reunion with bitter adversary Lalu Prasad Yadav ahead of the state Assembly elections, could be said to have been taken by him without prior deliberations.

Under such circumstances, it is highly unlikely that he would rush to withdraw prohibition following the recent death of 20 people, allegedly due to spurious liquor in Gopalganj district.

The tragedy has prompted his opponents to raise the demand for the immediate rollback of the prohibition policy.

From self-styled economists to Bollywood actors, many naysayers have raised questions over Kumar's wisdom to implement prohibition, telling him how such a law had failed even in the United States of America.

Expressing doubts over its efficacy, former JD(U) MP Shivanand Tiwari went to the extent of accusing him of being influenced by ativaad (excessivism) in pursuing the new law.

In fact, the anti-prohibition brigade has cited different reasons to demand the rollback of the prohibition policy.

First, Kumar has been cautioned about the rapid depletion of the state coffers. Prior to the ban on the sale of booze, the Bihar government had been receiving around Rs 4,500 crore by way of excise revenue which was used for various public welfare schemes.

But Kumar has chosen to overlook the warning even though he needs huge funds to implement his seven-point development agenda which he had unveiled in the run-up to the Assembly polls.

Second, Kumar has been told that his decision would result in rampant smuggling of liquor from the adjoining states, as well as Nepal with which it shares a porous international border.

But the chief minister brushed aside such apprehensions by claiming that an effective mechanism had already been put in place to pre-empt such a possibility.

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Above all, fears have been raised over the possible abuse of power by the police and excise officials owing to the sweeping powers given to them under the new laws which, among other things, provide for harsh punishment not only for the alcoholics but also for all their kin living under the same roof.

Kumar, however, has sought to allay the fears of the return of "police raj" by pointing out that any abuse of power by the police personnel or any other government official will make them undergo harsher punishment.

The chief minister's arguments have, however, not impressed the opponents of the prohibition policy who believe that the Gopalganj tragedy is just the tip of the iceberg.

In recent past, the police have unearthed illicit liquor from several districts underlining the fact that even "draconian laws" had failed to curb.

This should be a matter of concern for Kumar. If not checked, surreptitious manufacturing and rampant smuggling of spurious liquor will remain a big threat to the lives of the poor people.

Bihar has had many such tragedies in the past and it will be disastrous if such practices continue unhindered.

Kumar has resolved to take firm action but made it clear at the same time that he would not rollback the prohibition at any cost.

Underlining his commitment, he claims the wholehearted support of the majority of people, especially women.

This is what has given him a high to carry on with his support to the anti-alcohol mission regardless of the criticism it has generated.

(Courtesy of Mail Today.)