Hooch tragedy: BJP asks Bihar CM Nitish to take responsibility for 13 lives

New Delhi: Attacking Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over his "Tuglaqi" diktat, BJP on Wednesday demanded he take responsibility for the death of 12 persons due to suspected consumption of spurious liquor.

BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain accused the state government of working to cover up the reason for these deaths, but said the party supported prohibition.

Taking a dig at Kumar over his prohibition pitch in various parts of the country, he told a press conference that people of Bihar had elected him with a lot of hope and believed his many promises but he "discusses nothing but prohibition".

"Prohibition can be effective only when there is a rule of law. His (Kumar) responsibility does not end with merely enacting a law. He has failed in stopping trade of illicit liquor from across the state's borders.

"Bihar government is busy in covering up these deaths. It is not about formulating policy but having a clean conscience as well," he said.

Criticising Kumar for the law that entails imprisonment and fine for members of a household or an entire village if prohibition law is violated, Hussain said BJP is not in support of such "Tuglaqi" (dictatorial) edicts.

Asked if BJP supported prohibition across the country, he said it was a state-specific issue and the party was evaluating experiences in different states. 
What happened in Bihar is also an experience, he said, referring to the deaths.

Twelve persons have died after suspected consumption of spurious liquor in Gopalganj district of Bihar, where prohibition was implemented in April, even as authorities claimed that the reason behind the deaths is not clear and ordered a probe.