Liquor ban law is in force in some states of the country. Before Bihar, states like Gujarat and Manipur are included in them.
Recently, a 30-year-old law was abolished in Manipur, which made drinking, selling or buying liquor a crime. After this, the conditions for its consumption have been relaxed in Gujarat also.
The Gujarat government has allowed consumption of alcohol in hotels, restaurants and clubs in Gujarat International Finance Tech-City (GIFT). Liquor access permits will be given to the employees and owners working here.
Earlier recently, the BJP government in Manipur had decided to lift the ban on liquor after more than 30 years.
The Cabinet has reformed the liquor policy to increase state revenue and stop the supply of poisonous liquor.
The Manipur cabinet led by Chief Minister N Biren Singh had approved the manufacture, production, possession, export, import, transportation, purchase, sale and consumption of liquor in the state after more than 30 years of prohibition. The prohibition on liquor was partially lifted in September 2022.
Let us tell you that prohibition is a very sensitive topic. Any government thinks many times before taking any decision on this subject.
From tax point of view it is an important source of earning for the government. If we talk about Manipur, lifting the prohibition law there will generate an income of Rs 600-700 crore.
The government has also claimed that this will also help in tackling the menace of illicit liquor sale and drug proliferation.
In Bihar, Nitish Kumar had announced this on the demand of women. There is a lot of politics on this issue now. Leaders like Jitan Ram Manjhi openly oppose it.
Before coming to power, many RJD leaders had also been speaking against it. However, Lalu Yadav’s party speaks cautiously on this issue.
Recently, the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC) had once again appealed to the Bihar government to lift the complete ban on liquor in the state, like the decision of the Manipur government. He had said that this will also increase the earnings of Bihar government.
At the same time, in this matter, Bihar’s Prohibition and Excise Minister Sunil Kumar said that the liquor ban was a policy decision of the state government after it was passed unanimously by both the houses of the state legislature and it cannot be withdrawn.
Manjhi’s promise – If government is formed then prohibition law will be removed
Complete prohibition is in force in Bihar since 2016. However, even after this, many cases of people dying due to poisonous liquor have been coming to light. On this pretext, the opposition continues to attack the Nitish government. Recently, former Chief Minister of Bihar Jitan Manjhi had called prohibition a failure. He had claimed that 80 percent of the people who are in jail due to this law are people from Dalit community. Manjhi had claimed that if our government comes, we will implement this law on the lines of Gujarat or abolish this law completely. He said that the survey being conducted by the Prohibition Department will again show that prohibition is successful. Like the caste survey, this too will be false.