BJP hatching conspiracy against prohibition in Bihar: JD(U)

JAMSHEDPUR: Jharkhand JD(U) president Jaleshwar Mahato today accused BJP of hatching a conspiracy against the liquor ban imposed by Nitish Kumar government in Bihar.

He alleged that the BJP government in Jharkhand was transporting liquor to Bihar illegally and had also allowed sale of liquor in the bordering areas to ensure that the ban fails.

Mahto said the large quantity of liquor have been seized recently in Bihar were being transported illegally in different ways, including in LPG cylinders, from Jharkhand.

"It is a conspiracy of BJP to disrupt Kumar's effort to ban sale of liquor in Bihar," he alleged, adding the situation in Jharkhand was on the downswing due to sale of liquor in the state.

The liquor ban by the Bihar government had been hailed by the people, particularly women, said Mahato, who was accompanied by Bihar Rural Development and Parliamentary Affair Minister Sharavan Kumar and Jharkhand JD(U) youth wing president Pawan Pandey.

Kumar said Bihar government had preferred to forgo Rs 5000 crore revenue generated through sale of liquor for a "noble" social cause.

Revenue generation over good social cause hardly matters, he said, adding revenue loss was compensated by increasing tax on some sectors including textile, sweets and building construction.

Mahato lashed out at Jharkhand government for displacing people from their land to benefit corporates and sought to know the logic behind setting up a land bank by displacing people from their land.

"There can be no comparison between (Bihar Chief Minister) Nitish Kumar and (Jharkhand Chief Minister) Raghubar Das. While Kumar never back tracks from what he says, Das did it on several occasions," Mahato said, adding bureaucrats were ruling the roost in Jharkhand which has not launched a single program for the poor but only for the corporate.