Impose prohibition in one go: Nitish Kumar urges Kerala govt.

Strongly arguing for prohibition, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is on a visit to Kerala, urged the state government to impose complete liquor ban in one go.

NitishKumar rubbished the argument that prohibition would incur huge financial burden on the state. He also invited a state government delegation to study the good results of prohibition in Bihar. The CM was inaugurating the 18th state conference of anti-liquor committee of Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council. 
 

Related: Narcotic abuse spiked four times in Kerala after curbs on liquor sales
 

The CM claimed that  tourist arrivals in Bihar increased after the liquor ban. Criminal offenses and road accidents came down after prohibition, he added. Bihar declared prohibition in April 2016 and stood with the resolve to ban liquor despite a High Court censure.
 

Related: Minister wants the world to know; Kerala is still wet
 

The Bihar Chief Minister's suggestion comes at a time when the left government in Kerala is mulling a reversal of state's liquor policy that proposed prohibition in a phased manner. The policy adopted by the previous UDF govt. proposed to bring down the number of liquor bars and outlets in the state systematically. It also proposed to implement prohibition in ten years.

But the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government, which assumed office in May 2016, declared that prohibition was impractical. The LDF also claimed that the restrictions on liquor badly affected tourism sector and state revenue.

• Nitish Kumar
• Kerala liquor ban
• Prohibition
• Kerala liquor policy