JOIN USStung by the sting operation in which he was shown offering liquor to his guests, Congress legislator from Narkatiaganj, Bihar, Vinay Verma has said he was a teetotaller and had been framed by those whom he had trounced in the last year Assembly polls.
Verma was shown, in a 10-minute sting by a private news channel, having liquor at his home. “I am vegetarian and a teetotaller. The question of having liquor does not arise at all. But yes, it’s true that when a group of journalist wanted to talk to me on tourism, I agreed to their request and talked about Valmiki Nagar Tiger Reserve. During the conversation, they asked me about prohibition. I said I welcomed Nitish Ji’s move. I also said that liquor was available in Nepal, close to Narkatiaganj. But no where did I offer any liquor to anyone,” clarified the first-term legislator.
Show-cause notice
Meanwhile, the Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) is planning to issue a show-cause notice to its MLA against whom a case has been lodged at the Pataliputra police station under the new Excise Act. “We will issue a show cause to Verma. Suitable action will be taken against him after his reply,” said BPCC chief Ashok Choudhary, who is also Bihar’s Education Minister in Nitish Cabinet.
Meanwhile, senior BJP leader and former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi on Tuesday said that most of the ruling party MLAs in Bihar were having liquor secretly, even though they had pledged not to drink.
The JD (U), however, reacted strongly to Modi’s charge. “Modi should prove his allegation or be ready to face a defamation suit,” said JD (U) spokesperson Sanjay Singh.
In the meantime, the toddy tappers staged dharna here on Tuesday demanding the Nitish government to roll back its decision to ban toddy. “We appeal to the chief minister not to ban toddy as it is not liquor. Otherwise, the move will ruin the livelihood of toddy tappers,” said president of Akhil Bharatiya Pasi Samaj, Jagdish Choudhary.