Bihar MLC warns against prohibition

BJP MLC from Bihar Devesh Thakur on Thursday rubbished the demand of a blanket ban on consuming of alcohol in Maharashtra that a few legislators had made, and explained how the smuggling of alcohol has increased in Bihar after a similar ban was implemented there. Mr Thakur, who is originally Mumbai-based, was elected in the Upper House in Bihar as he is a close confidant of chief minister Nitish Kumar.

Mr Thakur revealed that marriages and parties for other occasions are sometimes shifted from Patna and the rest of Bihar to a neighbouring state where alcohol consumption is allowed. “People want to enjoy alcohol at parties, but since the Nitish Kumar government has prohibited liquor in Bihar, it has not only been losing state revenue of Rs 5,000 crore annually, but is also losing indirect revenue of more than Rs 9,000 crore,” Mr Thakur claimed.

“I opposed the bill in the Upper House and told the House that it would promote the smuggling of alcohol. I was correct since liquor is still available online and via a home-delivery basis,” Mr Thakur said. “You can get any brand of alcohol at your doorstep, just like pizza,” he added.

“Maharashtra is a huge state and there is huge revenue collection from excise duty. It will be impractical to think about such a demand,” he said.

NCP MLC Prakash Binsale had demanded a ban on alcohol consumption in the state during the Monsoon Session. Minister of finance Sudhir Mungantiwar, however, had refuted his demand.

Minister of state for home (rural) Deepak Kesarkar said he has instructed the police department to shut down illicit liquor centres. “The consumption of illicit and hand-made liquor, or hooch, has led to the loss of many lives in Mumbai and other parts of the state. We have also noticed that it increases crime rates,” Mr Kesarkar added.

Meanwhile, Amrit Kiran Singh, chairman of the International Spirits and Wines Association Of India, said prohibition is not an appropriate solution, and affects tourism in the state.