Ranchi, April 12: Days after Bihar implemented a complete ban on liquor, demands within the BJP-led government have begun to emerge favouring ban on alcohol in Jharkhand also.
Water Resources Minister Chandra Prakash Choudhary, an MLA from Ramgarh and a member of BJP ally All-Jharkhand Students’ Union (AJSU), on Monday wrote a letter to the chief minister suggesting that the state should look at the possibility of complete ban on production, sale and consumption of liquor.
Choudhary said: “Our experience at the ground level shows that a large number of families are getting destroyed or face perennial financial problems due to the habit of consumption of liquor. The neighbouring state has implemented a ban. My personal opinion is that such a step should be taken in our state also. Therefore, I have given my suggestion to the same effect to the Chief Minister in writing. As and when the matter comes up for discussion, I will take it further.”
Choudhary said that a perception has developed among the common people and also the tribals that they cannot do without liquor. “People would have to be made aware. We will have to think as to why a person not having enough money to pay his wards’ fees in school earns enough to consume liquor every evening? The amount of stress faced by women of the families, where males consume liquor, is something we all know about,” he said.
Labour Minister, Raj Paliwar, who is BJP MLA from Madhupur in Deoghar district, too, has been advocating the same from public platforms.
