Nitish Kumar asked 40 lakh plus JD(U) workers to counter falsehood spread against prohibition.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday roped in more than 40 lakh JD(U) workers to counter "falsehood" spread against prohibition by some "affected intellectuals deprived of quota of 1-2 peg."
"A few intellectuals deprived of their quota of 1-2 peg are spreading falsehood regarding liquor ban in Bihar," Kumar said at the one-day JD(U) state council meeting. Kumar appealed to party workers to counter the falsehood by vociferously speaking in favour of alcohol ban.
"In democracy power of speaking matters a lot...move your lips more strongly in favour of prohibition and other programmes of "sushashan" which should become voice of the nation," the CM said.
Kumar, who is National President of JD(U) asked state party leadership to take out "prabhat pheri" and hold "sankalp sabha" on Gandhi Jayanti to promote "jan chetna" (peoples awareness) in favour of prohibition and "seven resolves". He also called for organising shivir (camp) and orientation programmes for more than 1.5 lakh active JD(U) workers for the same.
Newly re-elected Bihar JD(U) President Basisthan Narayan Singh promptly responded to CM's call and announced the programmes for workers on October 2. Besides Singh, senior party leader Sharad Yadav and a host of state ministers, Members of Parliament, State Legislature and senior party office bearers were in attendance.
In the beginning of his speech, Kumar pointed to some media reports which claimed that there were negligible takers of CM's offer of providing Sudha dairy outlets in place of closed liquor shops to protect livelihood of those employed there and said, "If they did not come to grab the offer what is my fault?"
"If anybody is really interested to make a reality check of prohibition visit any village in the state and see how happy the women and family are feeling," he said highlighting merits of April 5 decision to declare Bihar a dry state.
Kumar has been facing criticism from opposition and also sections of civil society dubbing it as "talibani and draconian" in some media reports and discussions on TV channels on making liquor law more stringent by incorporating provisions of arrest of all adult members of a family in case of recovery of liquor from a home and community penalty against habitual violators of prohibition.
Amended Liquor law will be notified from October 2, he said. Kumar talked in detail about programmes of "sushashan" brought by the grand secular alliance government out of his "seven resolves" which has been adopted by the coalition ministry as policy of governance for the next five years and appealed to JD(U) workers to propagate them among people.
Kumar exhorted more than 40 lakh JD(U) workers to make people aware of benefits of programmes like drinking water and electricity to every household, student credit card and monthly allowance to students for hunting jobs.
Former national president of JD(U) Sharad Yadav praised implementation of prohibition and exhorted party workers to work towards effective implementation of liquor law.
"Nitish Kumar has implemented prohibition in the state which is not only in the interest of the state but is also in the interest of the party," Yadav said. The more the prohibition gains ground it would help party in expanding its base, he said.
Yadav made scathing attack on the NDA government and said Narendra Modi government is claiming that the GDP growth rate is 7.5 per cent but the fact is that middle class is the worst victim of its policies.
Stating that Modi government was opposed to FDI in retail, Yadav said that Modi government has forgotten all its promises and now it has opened its doors for FDI in retail. Nitish Kumar said he was following "gatbandhan dharma" in true spirit and consulted leadership of partner parties RJD and Congress before any policy decision be it prohibition or those of seven resolves.
He also said emphatically that "rule of law" prevailed in the state and asked party workers to be cautious against "rumour mongers" efforts to create tension in society particularly during coming festival time.
JD(U) state council ratified Basistha Narayan Singh's re-election as state chief at today's function.
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