‘Sharabi Ho Gaye Ho’: CM Nitish Loses Cool As BJP Corners Bihar Govt Over Chhapra Hooch Tragedy | WATCH

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar lost his temper in the State Assembly after Opposition BJP questioned the state government’s liquor ban in the wake of another hooch tragedy in the Saran district on Wednesday.

Leader of Opposition Vijay Kumar Sinha in the Bihar Assembly raised questions regarding the Nitish government’s ban on alcohol after at least five people died due to the alleged consumption of spurious liquor in the state’s Saran district’s Chhapra area on Tuesday.

As the tragedy caused an uproar in the Bihar Legislative Assembly, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar became visibly angry and reportedly screamed at the BJP MLAs “Sharabi ho gaye ho tum…(you are drunk)”.

In another video clip shared by news agency ANI, Kumar can be seen yelling at Sinha, “arey tum bol rahe ho!” (oh you are speaking now).

Moreover, Kumar also warned that if people drink spurious liquor, they will die. His blunt comments came as his policy of prohibition came under attack from many quarters including from his former political strategist turned activist Prashant Kishor, who demanded scrapping of the prohibition law.

“Jo piyega woh marega” (those who drink spurious alcohol will die), thundered Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as he stood his ground maintaining that prohibition was “not my personal wish but a response to the cries of the women of the state”.

The din caused Speaker Awadh Bihari Chaudhary to adjourn the proceedings for 15 minutes, within half an hour of commencement at 11 am. The unruly scenes continued when the House re-assembled. BJP members demanded an apology from the chief minister, who was then not in his chair, and staged a walkout when the Zero Hour began.

Opposition BJP MLAs staged a demonstration outside the assembly, blaming the “nexus” between police and illicit liquor traders for the deaths. “We have always supported the ban on liquor, even when it was introduced while we were in opposition. But its implementation has been a complete failure,” said former deputy chief minister Tarkishor Prasad, as per PTI.

Leader of the Opposition in Vidhan Parishad, Samrat Chaudhary said, “We are appalled to learn about the behaviour of the chief minister inside the assembly. He seems to have lost his moorings and should resign.”

BJP MP Sushil Kumar Modi slammed Kumar’s conduct in the state assembly and said: “The tenure of Nitish Kumar is over. He has lost his memory. He calls Prashant Kishor and BJP MLAs as ‘tu’, ‘tum’. It happened earlier as well. He loses his temper very often now. But his disposition was not like this before.”

“You can’t impose a ban. Through awareness and counselling you should make people understand that consumption of liquor is injurious to health,” ANI quoted former minister and RJD MLA Sudhakar Singh as saying.

Union Minister Giriraj Singh said the Bihar Chief Minister should convene an all-party meeting on the issue and take a decision accordingly. “If a policy is not successful, then it should be reconsidered,” he said.

However, State Minister for Prohibition Sunil Kumar took exception to BJP’s charge that prohibition was being flouted because the violators received “protection” from the ruling dispensation. “When the BJP was our ally, their leaders never made such an allegation. They should remember that crimes punishable under the IPC and the CrPC have not stopped even though these codes have been in place since the British Raj”, the minister said.

Meanwhile, Pataliputra MP and former Union minister Ram Kripal Yadav claimed that Kumar’s declaration that the ruling alliance with fight the next assembly polls in 2025 under RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has caused much heartburn within his own party while the Rashtriya Janata Dal has been pressuring him to pass on the mantle to its leader.

Sale and consumption of alcohol were banned in Bihar by the Nitish Kumar government in April 2016. The state has seen several deaths due to consumption of spurious liquor since then.

(with inputs from agencies)

Read all the Latest Politics News here