Patna: The Bihar unit of the Congress is a divided residence on the liquor prohibition problem. While Congress legislature celebration leader Ajit Kumar Sharma asked Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to withdraw the prohibition, his celebration colleague and MLA from Katihar Shakil Ahmad Khan demanded strict enforcement of the anti-liquor laws.
Sharma, in a letter to Nitish Kumar on Tuesday, recommended total lifting of prohibition, raising costs of liquor and utilising the income earned by way of excise for setting up of industries.
Sharma stated the government was suffering heavy loss of income because imposition of prohibition in 2015, but liquor was readily available in black all more than the state, and the government is suffering more loss due to black marketing and advertising of liquor coming from other components of the nation illegally.
The Congress leader stated the liquor mafia benefited due to the ban and promoted clandestine business enterprise of liquor.
He demanded the state government to lift prohibition straight away.
However, Khan opposed his celebration leader and stated the CLP leader should really withdraw his letter. Khan stated the chief minister should really go stern on the prohibition laws and make sure its provisions have been enforced strictly.
Former chief minister, Jeetan Ram Manjhi, who heads the HAM(S), an alliance companion of NDA in Bihar, also supported relaxation in prohibition laws. He demanded release of all these arrested for violation of prohibition laws. Manjhi stated the majority of these detained or jailed on the charge of violating prohibition laws have been poor and Dalits.