Sachchidanand Jha
Editor in chief
Nitish Kumar government has been hogging the headlines ever since it enforced total prohibition in the state last month though the Karpoori Thakur government had also enforced prohibition in late seventies. But the manner in which the state police is trying to enforce prohibition is simply horrifying to say the least if the raids being conducted by them are anything to go by . CM Nitish Kumar while talking about prohibition sounds more like an activist than an astute administrator he is as. He is hardly talking about the demand for grant of special category state status to Bihar now.
Though a very noble move, prohibition will have its pitfalls. Apart from causing an annual excise revenue loss of nearly Rs 5,000 crore, it can also impact the tourist flow in the state particularly foreign tourists who like to drink. Nitish has already said alcoholics need not visit Bihar. Hotel industry will also suffer considerably. One must not forget that the entire population does not drink and the same government had in the past allowed opening of liquor outlets at almost every nook and corner across the state .
No doubt, prohibition should be on the agenda of the government but it should not be the only agenda.Grand Alliance legislators are maligning the image of the government. While an RJD legislator from Nawada district is in jail on rape charge, a JD(U) MLC’s son shot dead a student on Saturday night in Gaya district for overtaking his SUV. Few months back , a JD(U) MLA from Araria district was charged with misbehaving with a woman on train. That apart a dalit woman of Samastipur ditrict had recently lodged an FIR with police charging an RJD MLA with putting pressure on her son to undergo religious conversion. The MLA has denied the charge.
All these incidents suggest `Sushashan’ has taken the back seat at least for the time being though women are extremely happy with Nitish government for enforcing prohibition. Higher education sector remains neglected in the state as there are huge vacancies of teachers in different universities. The condition of health sector can be assessed from the fact that uterus of several rural women were removed by the doctors in some districts under National Rural Health Mission. The state government has recommended for action against such doctors to the MCI. Two blacklisted drug firms bagged contract for drug supply in the state.