Nitish Kumar's inebriation worse than liquor addiction, says RJD leader

Taking a dig at the Bihar Chief Minister over his "Samaj Sudhar Abhiyan" (social reform campaign) in the state, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Vice President Shivanand Tiwari on Wednesday said that an inebriated Nitish Kumar is worse than liquor addiction.

"Nitish Kumar is touring the state to seize liquor bottles these days. People are laughing after liquor bottles were found in the state Assembly with the DGP and Nitish Babu searching for it," Tiwari quipped.

"It is a kind of mental disease and I believe that inebriation of Nitish Kumar is worse and dangerous than the addiction of liquor," Tiwari said.

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"Bihar is poor and he has put a huge burden on the state exchequer. He has also pressured bureaucrats to such an extent that they are running behind him," he said.

Echoing Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana's views that the liquor ban decision of Bihar government in 2016 had a "put huge burden" on courts, he said: "There are three lakh cases pending in the courts of Bihar. People are waiting for justice for a long time and now the excessive cases related to liquor violations put additional burden on courts," he said.

On Monday, the Chief Justice was in Sidhartha law college in Vijayawada where he shared his views on futuristic challenges in the Indian judiciary system.

Ramana pointed out that every policy needs to be addressed with futuristic planning, its evaluation and constitutionality before its implementation on ground. After the liquor ban decision of Nitish Kumar government in 2016, a large number of cases were pending in the courts. Even hearing for bail in simple cases is taking one year time in the courts.

"The applications pertaining to bails in liquor prohibition act are submitted in large numbers in the high court. Due to shortsighted policies implemented by different governments, it is affecting the works of courts in the country. Every law needs to be discussed thoroughly and with solid points before implementation," Ramana said.

"A young couple was arrested in the hotel of Patna on the charge of liquor violation and put them in jail without thinking that their future will be ruined after that. The act of a couple may be a violation of existing law but it is more of a case of counselling rather than a crime," Tiwari said.

"In majority of the cases of liquor ban, only poor people are being arrested in Bihar," Tiwari further said.

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