New Delhi: Main opposition party in Bihar, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), on Tuesday mocked the Nitish Kumar-led government's latest announcement that people caught drinking alcohol will not be jailed.
Talking to reporters here, Mrityunjay Tiwary, RJD spokesperson (Bihar unit), said, the new decision of the state government that people caught drinking alcohol will not be jailed, is quite ridiculous.
It proves that the prohibition policy has failed in the state and it should be ended, he said.
According to the latest order issued by the state government, the police will not send those drinking alcohol to jail. Instead, the offenders would be asked to cough up information on the liquor mafia.
Smuggling of liquor is going on, people are dying, the state is also losing revenue and now the police are also entering the rooms of women in the name of prohibition. It has failed and I say that it should be ended, the party spokesperson claimed.
The chief minister is working under the pressure of the liquor mafia in the state, he alleged.
Deputy Commissioner, Excise, Krishna Kumar, told reporters on Monday that the "relaxation" was being introduced to tighten the noose on the network of smugglers and peddlers.
"Now, if a person is caught drunk he will be asked about the place and persons who made alcohol available to him. A raid would be conducted based on the tip-off and if the information is found correct, the informant will not be jailed", he had said.
The state government had on April 5, 2016, banned the manufacture, sale, and consumption of liquor including IMFL in the state and made it a punishable offence for those violating the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act 2016 which was amended in 2018.