Bihar government captured by liquor mafia, deaths by spurious liquor are murders: Manoj Jha

New Delhi [India], November 10 : Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha on Wednesday alleged that the Bihar government has been captured by the liquor mafia and termed the recent deaths in the state due to consumption of spurious liquor as "murders".
"The Bihar government has been captured by the liquor mafia. That is why I no longer consider deaths due to consumption of spurious liquor as deaths, they are murders. From the police station to the upper-most level, a liquor mafia is running the state. The opposition has warned the government about it but it is being ridiculed. The Chief Minister says that a review will be done but when it will be done? How many more lives are going to be lost?" said Jha while talking to ANI.
The estimated official toll in Bihar due to the consumption of spurious alcohol has risen to 32. A total of 15 people died in Bettiah, 13 in Gopalganj and 4 in Samastipur due to consumption of spurious alcohol, said the officials said.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Monday that the government has convened a high-level meeting over the liquor ban on November 16.
On the proposed farmers' rally on November 26 to mark a year of their protest, Jha said that no option had been left for the farmers who were defamed for one whole year and urged the Centre to start a fresh dialogue with the farmers and repeal the three controversial farm laws.
"Centre does not understand what's good for farmers better than the farmers themselves and they must accept this," he added.
In a statement, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha had said that it will observe one year of the movement on and after November 26 in a "massive way" at the borders of Delhi and all over India.
On Congress and BJP trading attacks over the Rafale issue, he emphasised that the government should investigate the issue via a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC).
"Leave aside what BJP and Congress are saying. What is the government doing? News on the issue is being printed all over the world. The government has entered into the eighth year of its rule. Why not enquire about it now? What is the problem with JPC? It was also used in Bofors case," he said.
Hitting out at the Centre over the new media reports on the Rafale deal, Congress on Tuesday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government is running away from Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the matter.
BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra on Tuesday slammed Congress for alleged corruption in the Rafale deal in the period between 2007 to 2012 following fresh media reports and termed the party as 'I Need Commission'.
On NSA's meeting on Afghanistan in Delhi today, he said that an issue of concern is the absence of Pakistan and China, two crucial players in the Afghanistan-Taliban issue and said that the absence of these two countries from the meeting should be a point of focus.
The Delhi Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan was held at the level of National Security Advisers or Secretaries of Security Councils on Wednesday. It witnessed the participation of Iran, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Ajit Doval chaired the dialogue.