A stringent Bihar Excise and Prohibition Bill, 2016, was passed on Monday in the state Assembly by voice vote amidst boycott by Opposition over the state government’s rejection of their proposals in the over three hour-long debate on the legislation.
Though the new legislation for total prohibition incorporated provisions like production, marketing and consumption of toddy - a livelihood of the Pasis, a Dalit community, the state government allowed them to carry on with their traditional business till a mechanism was put in place for processing ‘Nira’, an unfermented drink made out of toddy juice.
The NDA members, who had unsuccessfully moved 17 amendments to the Bill, and vociferously opposed it in its current form, trooped out of the House ahead of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s reply. They later took out a protest march to the Raj Bhawan and submitted a memorandum to Governor Ramnath Kovind in this regard.
Earlier, state Excise and Prohibition Minister Abdul Jalil Mastan introduced the Bihar Excise and Prohibition Bill, 2016 for consideration and passage by the Assembly in the post-lunch session.
Speaker Vijay Kumar Chaudhary put all 100 sections of the new prohibition law for discussion by the members during which opposition BJP members introduced 17 amendments, all of which were rejected by the House by voice vote.
The BJP members had sought division of votes on two of their amendment motions. But both were rejected by the House with the opposition getting 46 votes compared to 150 against after counting of votes on the amendment in section 17 of the Bill.