Last Update: December 19, 2022, 20:59 IST
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar arrived to attend the winter session amid protests by opposition legislators over the spurious liquor case in Patna. (PTI)
If the government agrees to pay compensation for the deaths due to spurious liquor, the BJP will get political mileage. The move will also have financial implications for the Nitish-Tejashwi government
Also as Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar The 70 deaths due to spurious liquor in Saran district have drawn sharp criticism from the government, highlighting a question – is the state government legally bound to provide financial relief to the next of kin of the victims?
Kumar on Thursday angered the opposition and the public over his “stupid and insensitive remarks” on the poisoning deaths. ,Piyoge to maroge (Those who drink, will die). We will not give even a penny to those who die after drinking spurious liquor. I have instructed my officers not to arrest poor people, but to take action against those who smuggle illegal liquor into the state.
Kumar said that the government is ready to provide financial assistance of one lakh rupees to the people involved in the business of making country liquor to start a small business.
Senior JD(U) leader Upendra Kushwaha also made scathing remarks. “Seeking compensation for spurious liquor victims is like seeking relief for someone who makes and plants a bomb. Will the state government pay the bombers? This never happens.
assault
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has slammed the Nitish-Tejashwi-led government over one of the worst liquor tragedies since prohibition was imposed in the state in 2016.
Sushil Modi, former deputy chief minister and once a close aide of Nitish Kumar, led the charge against the government. “The government cannot discriminate against the next of kin of the Saran liquor victims, as they have already given the same compensation to the next of kin of the Khajurbani liquor tragedy, in which 19 people died in 2016.”
JD(U) national president Lalan Singh shared a graphic showing BJP-ruled states at the top in spurious liquor tragedies, which was strongly rejected by Modi, who said the Bihar government was hiding the deaths and More than 1,000 people have died since 2016.
The Catch-22
If the government agrees to pay compensation for the deaths due to spurious liquor, the BJP will get political mileage. The move will also have financial implications.
Citing National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav claimed that only 23 people died between 2016 and 2021. While the NCRB compiles the data on the basis of data provided by the states, only 23 deaths are being questioned. In this period more than 20 tragedies.
Kumar now finds himself trapped in his own prohibition policy. Prohibition had become a political issue in the recently held Kurhani assembly by-election, which was raised during an internal review meeting of the party.
During the five-day winter session, the BJP did not allow the government to conduct legislative work, demanding an apology from Kumar for his objectionable remarks against BJP legislators.
Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, Samrat Chowdhary, said the BJP could move the High Court if the government did not release the financial compensation.
Sound
The Congress and the CPI are united and are demanding compensation for the next of kin of the deceased. RJD finds itself in trouble.
Meanwhile, Tejashwi Yadav, sitting in the opposition, had made fun of the then NDA government after finding an empty bottle of liquor in the assembly premises. Under attack from the BJP and the media, Tejashwi Yadav said the media should focus on Padhi, (Education) Dawai, (Dawa) Kamani, (Jobs) and Sinchai (Irrigation), as he challenged the BJP to come out in the open , If they want to end the prohibition system.
read all latest politics news here