Bihar: Ex-CM Manjhi stirs row; advises people to 'learn enjoying drinks from bade sahibs'

Stirring a new controversy over Bihar's government liquor ban, former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi took a sly dig at senior leaders and officials stating that "underdogs of the dry state should learn the art of enjoying their drink slyly from their wealthy counterparts whose bacchanalia (activities) does not land them in jails". Notably, he made this statement in reference to the recent arrest of a drunk man after he had a few drinks at the end of his day. 

Calling it "outrageous", Manjhi who is also the chief of the Hindustani Awam Morcha party, a junior partner in the state's ruling coalition, while referring to the incident added that "getting tipsy after a day's hard work and squatted on the roadside causing a racket, only to be hauled up by the men in uniform who subjected him to a breath analyser test before throwing him behind bars."

Furthermore, advising the poor people on how to drink alcohol, he said that they should learn from "bade sahibs" (big shots) who easily enjoy a few pegs in the night and go to sleep without getting caught. Further citing a few newspaper articles, he added that is "nothing wrong" in enjoying a drink or two as it is "therapeutic". 

“The poor, the labourers, irrespective of the caste to which they belong, need to relax after a day of back-breaking hard work. They end up getting a bad name because of their obstreperousness. There would be no problem if they learned how to behave after having a few drinks and also how to exercise moderation", he added. 

Bihar government's liquor ban

Notably, ever since Bihar chief Nitish Kumar imposed a complete ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol in Bihar in April 2016, he has been encouraging to take up to eradicate alcohol completely from their lives. The chief minister has also claimed that the prohibition has come out to have positive effects on society by helping save money and bringing improvement in people's lives. 

CM Kumar has reiterated his call for avoiding alcohol consumption several times as he says that the law will remain in place as long as he is in power. 

However, despite the ban being in place, there have been still multiple reports of hooch tragedies in the state following which the leaders and politicians continue to acknowledge that the state remains in a tight spot due to a few loopholes in the law. 

Image: PTI