Bihar liquor ban: No govt official allowed to drink liquor anywhere in the world, says Nitish Kumar

After making Bihar a dry state in keeping with his 2015 Assembly election promise, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has taken his policy to a whole new level. The minister has made a new rule, according to which, no officials of the state government are allowed to consume liquor outside the state or country. Bihar is the only state to have passed such a rule. [caption id=“attachment_3099476” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar. PTI[/caption] According to Scroll, the state’s governor declared an amendment to the Bihar Government Servants’ Conduct Rules 1976 and said the rule was effective immediately. The decision was taken by Nitish during a Cabinet meeting. The government officials have gone a step ahead to sign pledges promising that they would abstain from consuming alcohol anywhere in the world. The state notification said, “Every government servant shall strictly abide by any law relating to intoxicating drinks or drugs, in force in any area in which he may happen to be.” According to The Indian Express, “guilty” officials will either be dismissed, suspended or face salary cuts. The decision was taken after the chief minister was told at a Jan Samvaad that his officials were still consuming liquor in their private space. Officials who are on deputation outside the state will also be facing the ban. On 21 January, News18 reported, the state organise an event event that saw a long human chain promoting prohibition across 11,000 km in the state. Nitish had told The Indian Express that the state has shown the way on prohibition and de-addiction. The state government had earlier said that crime rates in Bihar had gone down by 27% after the ban on the sale of alcohol came into effect on 5 April, 2016. The ban was one of Nitish’s key election promises to women voters during the 2015 Assembly election.