Bihar Chief minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday( November 2)  said he is seeking ‘suggestions’ from the general public on how to make prohibition ‘more acceptable’. He also threatened that he would  ‘not allow anybody to indulge in unnecessary criticism of prohibition without any basis’.

He categorically ruled out any dilution of prohibition, but hinted  that the government may consider amending one or two provisions of the law if doing so does not impact the ban on liquor and makes it more acceptable.

The state government has sought suggestions from the public by November 12 over the new dry law. A section of the local media put forward  that Nitish met Supreme Court senior advocate Gopal Subramaniam on Tuesday to seek counsel over diluting the prohibition law.

“Prohibition, which has been implemented here, will continue,” Nitish told journalists “It (prohibition) will remain in force with full strength. We are going to run the second phase of the campaign for it, which will reveal the huge public support it has attracted,” the chief minister added.

Asked why the state government had sought suggestions from the public over the new Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, Nitish said it did not mean the law was to be diluted.

“Some people termed provisions of the new prohibition Act draconian and Talibani, but did not give any suggestion about how to make them less draconian or less Talibani,” the chief minister said. “I am a democrat and am upholding the traditions of democracy. I have given them an opportunity to advise us on how to do so without compromising prohibition in the state.” He accepted that some provisions in the law – such as taking action on the basis of presumption and confiscation of property of an offender – have attracted much criticism, but declared that politicians who oppose “for the sake of opposition” and educated people who have been opposing the law have failed to give suitable suggestions.

“We will pay attention to the suggestions without diluting prohibition,” Nitish said, adding that he will hold a meeting on November 14 to listen to the ideas received by the excise department and an all-party meeting could also be called for consultation.

“But nobody should think for a moment that we will dilute prohibition or that we will step back from it. We are seeking suggestions to strengthen it further,” he stressed.

“The government may consider amending one or two provisions if doing so keeps prohibition intact and increases the acceptance of the new law among those who have opposed it. I have said this in the legislature as well as outside it on earlier occasions too.”

Asked about his meeting with senior advocate Subramaniam, Nitish pointed that the state government has challenged the Patna High Court order quashing the older Bihar Excise (Amendment) Act, 2016, and said the two-hour meeting with the lawyer was about that.

Chief secretary Anjani Kumar Singh, principal additional advocate-general Lalit Kishore and principal secretary, excise, Amir Subhani were also present at the meeting with Subramaniam, who had earlier offered to represent the government in the apex court for a token fee of Re 1.

“We discussed in detail various provisions of the previous amendment Act and the reasons behind incorporating them. The entire matter is in the Supreme Court and we talked about it,” Nitish added. The state government has also commissioned a study on the socio-economic impact of prohibition and is planning to submit that report before the apex court when the case challenging the high court order is taken up in December.

“We will also make the report public as we will not allow anybody to indulge in unnecessary criticism of prohibition without any basis,” Nitish said.

  Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Prohibition, total prohibition