Patna: Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and Leader of Opposition in Bihar Tejashwi Yadav on Friday slammed Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for his recent remarks, in which he described drinkers as “mahapapi (sinners) who are not Indian”.
Tejashwi took to his Twitter account to wonder if the Chief Minister was also referring to soldiers drinking alcohol.
“According to Nitish Kumar’s logic, even Indian soldiers who drink are not Hindustani. Criminals who spread rivers of blood and corrupt are not Mahapapis or Maha-Aayogs (sinful and useless) but drinkers?” Tejashwi Yadav tweeted in Hindi while sharing the video of Nitish Kumar’s comment in the Bihar Assembly.
The drinker of alcohol is highly unworthy and a great sinner. The drinker is not an Indian – Mr. Nitish Kumar
Due to this logic of Nitish ji, even the Indian soldiers who drank alcohol did not become Hindustani.
The wicked criminals and the corrupt, who shed rivers of blood in Bihar, are not unworthy and great sinners but are drunkards. pic.twitter.com/HR7IgToEMo
— Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) 1 April 2022
The RJD leader’s scathing attack on Nitish Kumar came a day after Nitish Kumar said those who drink alcohol are great sinners, not good for anyone, and do not deserve to be called an Indian. The Janata Dal-United (JDU) chief made the remarks on the table of the state legislature.
Invoking Mahatma Gandhi, Kumar recalled “Bapu”‘s hatred for alcohol and raised his voice against critics questioning the liquor ban in Bihar, which is in force since 2016.
“Those who criticize us for prohibition think they are capable. In fact, they are maha ayog (good for nothing) and maha papi (great sinner),” Kumar remarked annoyed.
The CM also said that it was Gandhi who helped the country get independence and as such, those who disagreed with him on the issue of alcohol “cannot be called Hindustani or Indian”.
Kumar had declared Bihar a dry state in April 2016, keeping in mind the election promises made to the women of the state ahead of the 2015 assembly elections.
Since then, the JDU-led government said the ban on alcohol has improved the standard of living in the state.
Recently, Kumar shrugged off suggestions that those coming from outside the state should be exempted from the remark that anyone who finds the liquor ban inconvenient, “needs not to go to Bihar”.
Earlier this week, the Nitish Kumar government has decided to introduce the Bihar Liquor Prohibition Bill 2022 in the state assembly.
Under the amendment, there is a provision for first time offenders to take bail from the duty magistrate after depositing the fine. If the offender is not able to deposit the fine, he may face one month in jail.