Patna, April 28 Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary, on Monday, launched a scathing attack on Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Chief Lalu Prasad and Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav over the liquor prohibition law, indirectly criticising Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as well.
Chaudhary hit back while responding to media queries about Tejashwi Yadav's allegation that the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government has been harassing Dalits and marginalised communities -- particularly targeting the Pasi community under the guise of the liquor prohibition law.
"When the liquor prohibition law was being implemented, whose government was in Bihar? These people first sent people to jail and are now pretending to get them released. His family first made the law and sent people of the Pasi community to jail, and now they are making hollow promises to release them," the Deputy CM said.
He questioned why there was no opposition from the RJD or Tejashwi Yadav when the liquor prohibition law was enacted in April 2016.
At that time, the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) government was in power in Bihar, led by Nitish Kumar, with Tejashwi Yadav serving as the Deputy Chief Minister.
"If Tejashwi Yadav had any concerns back then, he should have spoken up when the law was made. Neither he nor his party raised any demand for the exclusion of toddy from the liquor prohibition law at that time," Chaudhary said.
Tejashwi Yadav, while addressing a rally organised by the Pasi community on Sunday, had promised that if the Mahagathbandhan forms the government after the 2025 Assembly elections, he would release all Pasi community members jailed under charges related to toddy, exclude toddy from the liquor ban, and set up a toddy industry in Bihar.
Chaudhary's remarks have stirred political tensions, as his statements also indirectly put Nitish Kumar under scrutiny.
He suggested that no law could have been passed without CM Nitish Kumar's consent when the Grand Alliance was in power.
"When the liquor prohibition law was implemented, both JD-U and RJD were in the government. BJP had no role in it," Chaudhary emphasised, distancing his party from the decisions taken during that period.
Samrat Chaudhary's remarks have added fuel to the ongoing political debate around liquor prohibition and the alleged targeting of marginalised communities in Bihar.
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