Manjhi renews call for Gujarat-style prohibition, sparks debate

Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) leader and Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi has again brought the liquor prohibition issue in focus of political discourse in Bihar

Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) leader and Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi has again brought the liquor prohibition issue in focus of political discourse in Bihar.

Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi at an event in Patna. (HT FILE)

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of a Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) national executive and youth wing meeting in Patna recently, Manjhi, whose party is an ally of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), said the Gujarat model of liquor prohibition should be adopted in Bihar. He alleged that officials were misusing the existing law to target and implicate the poor while the stated objectives of the ban remained unfulfilled.

“Due to flaws in the law’s implementation, moral lapses are increasing. I would urge CM Samrat Choudhary to consider implementing the Gujarat model of prohibition in Bihar,” Manjhi said. He argued that Gujarat also had prohibition yet its people did not face the same level of difficulties, frustration or harassment experienced in Bihar. The law itself was sound in principle, he maintained, but police and administrative implementation suffered from serious irregularities. Vulnerable sections, especially the poor, should not be unnecessarily harassed; better monitoring and accountability were needed so that officials couldn’t misuse the provisions. Legislation alone was insufficient, he added, and awareness in the youth and other sections was equally important.

Manjhi’s demand for a review and amendment of the liquor law follows similar remarks by Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) leader and Union minister Chirag Paswan. Speaking to media persons earlier this year in Patna, Paswan had said: “There is a need to review whether the objective with which the law was enacted is being fulfilled, and if not, the loopholes need to be traced and fixed.” He clarified that talk of review was often misconstrued as a demand to lift the ban. “When we talk about review, there is often a misconception that we are talking about lifting the ban,” he had said.

The decade-old prohibition policy, enforced since April 2016 under then CM Nitish Kumar, has generated a massive volume of cases. More than 11,37,731 FIRs related to prohibition have been registered, of which 5,60,639 cases were filed by the excise department and 5,77,092 by Bihar police. During operations, 2.42 crore litres of country-made liquor and 2.40 crore litres of foreign liquor have been seized.

Despite these figures, illicit trade, home delivery networks and periodic hooch tragedies continue to surface, while critics point to the disproportionate impact on the poor and the persistence of smuggling.

Manjhi’s remarks quickly drew a firm response from the Janata Dal (United). A senior JD(U) MLC Neeraj Kumar categorically stated that there was “no question of reviewing” the prohibition law as it had brought significant positive changes in the lives of rural women and had even been appreciated by PM Modi.

The exchange underscores internal differences within the NDA. Smaller allies such as HAM(S) and LJP (Ram Vilas) have periodically called for tighter enforcement or a review of loopholes, while the JD(U) treats the 2016 law as settled policy that should not be reopened. The government under Samrat Choudhary has previously ruled out lifting the ban.

Opposition parties have weighed in with their own critiques. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the main opposition, favours total prohibition but maintains the law was never implemented effectively. RJD MLA and party spokesman Bhai Birendra said the party supported total prohibition “in real terms,” alleging a tacit understanding that allowed the law to be observed in the breach. He also urged stern measures against the rising prevalence of “sukha nasha” among youth after the ban.

The Congress has questioned the sincerity of enforcement. State Congress media department head Rajesh Rathor said the ban appeared to exist only on paper. “Big mafias have entered the illegal trade. Now they are calling the shots… They don’t want the liquor law to be reviewed or lifted, as it would affect huge income from their illicit trade,” he alleged, calling for a comprehensive review.