Patna: Former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Sunday said that Nitish Kumar's liquor ban has become a means to harass the Dalit community and if elected, his alliance with RJD would scrap the law. He was accompanied by RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav at the ‘Gareeb Rally’.
Manjhi said that he was not against the liquor ban but added that the law enforced by CM Nitish Kumar was draconian in nature and it suppresses the weaker section.
"I know many JD(U) leaders who consume liquor. Liquor trade is still flourishing in the state but police crackdown only affects the poor. 80 percent people lodged in jails under this law belong to the Dalit community", Manjhi claimed.
Tejashwi, too, echoed his concerns and asked where was “Nitish Chacha’s” conscience when his government allowed liquor shops to flourish in every village. He also asked why illegal trade was still flourishing.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) further alleged an involvement of higher-ups in the government in patronising the illicit liquor business.
Both the leaders lashed out at Nitish Kumar and BJP and projected them as anti-Dalit.
Jitan Manjhi also added that he had demanded and fought for reservation in promotions and private sector when he was a part of the NDA, but his voice went unheard.
Referring to the recent amendment of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act by the Supreme Court, both Tejashwi and Manjhi asked the Narendra Modi government to add the Act in Ninth Schedule of the Constitution.
Manjhi added, “He is doing nothing but only listening to what the Sangh Parivar is telling him. He is conspiring against the Dalits but the people of Bihar will teach him a lesson in Lok Sabha elections.”
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