Bharatiya Janata Party leaders have been claiming that "more than 100 people" have died. Most media reports have put the death toll to be more than 50.
Election strategist-turned-activist Prashant Kishor on Thursday claimed to have told Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar that the state's much-touted liquor prohibition drive has been a "complete failure", and in need of a "review".
A Chhattisgarh legislator from the Bharatiya Janata Party has suggested that use of bhang and cannabis be encouraged as alternatives to liquor, claiming that people addicted to these substances hardly commit crimes like rape, murder and dacoity.
The much-hyped liquor ban in the state has been widely seen as a failed attempt five years after its introduction.
The JD-U leader was seen sitting with Tej Pratap and Tejashwi Yadav, the sons of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav.
Five years after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar imposed total prohibition in Bihar, the liquor mafia continues to thrive, reports MI Khan.
The government has not divulged the amount of the fine to be imposed on first-time offenders.
Police officers in Bihar are up in arms over the suspension of 11 Station House Officers for not enforcing the liquor ban in the state.
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday reiterated that his government is committed to enforce liquor ban or prohibition in the state. M I Khan/ Rediff.com report from Patna.
On April 5, 2016, the Nitish Kumar-led government imposed total prohibition in Bihar. M I Khan crunches numbers for the REAL picture since then.
Asserting that liquor consumption is a social stigma, Nitish said that prohibition would improve society.
"It was a social event and we did not talk politics there," he said on his interaction with Modi.
Roja's comments on K Chandrasekhar Rao's alleged drinking habit led to protests from that party.
The fact that rodents were making merry in the dungeons came to light following media reports that they had overrun the 'Malkhana' (store) of the police stations.
'The home minister of India has given his assurance to the MP of Lakshadweep.'
When asked about the reason behind his criticism of the incumbent chief minister with whom his party has an alliance, the five-term MP said he won't be silent on wrong things.
The state government has introduced a new, more stringent law by which offenders could be jailed for up to seven years and make them poorer by Rs 1 lakh to Rs 10 lakh.
The announcement was part of late All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo J Jayalalithaa's promise to usher in prohibition in the state in a phased manner, Palaniswami said in his first formal press conference since his elevation as chief minister last week.
A circular issued by the state home department grants relaxation in timings to shops, beer bars and other establishments selling liquor, alcohol, beer, wine and country liquor on December 24 (Eid-e-Milad), December 25 (Christmas) and December 31 (New Year's Eve).
Kumar had added colour to 'lotus', election symbol of the BJP, when Devi had invited him at 23rd Patna Book Fair on Saturday to paint her drawing.
Governor E S L Narasimhan administered the oath of office and secrecy to the 46-year-old leader, whose party emerged victorious in 151 seats in the 175-member strong state assembly.
The cigarettes segment had a revenue of Rs 4,554.21 crore during the second quarter of the current fiscal, as against Rs 8,528.47 crore in the year-ago period, down 46.56 per cent.
Opposition attacked the government, saying prohibition law was being used to target Dalits.
'Our priority will be to settle land disputes in Bihar, which I believe is the root cause of almost all crime in the state.'
'This is almost like demonetisation and is overwhelming,' says a bar-owner.
BSE Midcap index outperformed the benchmark indices to end with 0.4% gains.
Four decades of federal evolution made India more secure, but coronavirus is reversing that. Modi's central government has tasted power again and is unlikely to give it up, notes Shekhar Gupta.
What will the Centre and the Tamil Nadu government do to answer the queries and fears of investors who will want to be doubly sure they would not be harassed at a later date, as has been happening to Sterlite, should be interesting to watch, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Nitish Kumar government is leaving no stones unturned to plug the loopholes in the implementation liquor ban.
At first look, the reader would be aghast at the similarities in the DMK and AIADMK's manifestos, wondering if the same hand had drafted both. Yet, when it comes to drinking water and irrigation supplies, both parties are equally silent on the subject -- as if summer did not exist, as didn't water scarcity, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
A Congress MLA in Bihar has landed in trouble after a sting operation caught the legislator on camera purportedly offering liquor to his guests, despite total prohibition imposed in the state by the Nitish Kumar government.
"In India, one person dies every fourth minute in road accidents, which is the highest in the world," Sindhu says.
Let Bihar be damned under its contradictions of having gone 'dry' and then having been submerged under flood, which is a recurrent phenomena? After all it is a godforsaken land, having lost its promises of overcoming its problems, says Mohammad Sajjad.
Protester Sasi Perumal's death has given a new fillip to the pro-prohibition movement, which was beginning to draw attention across Tamil Nadu after different political parties began to make it a part of their poll manifesto for next year, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
When Rani Hong was just seven, she was taken from her family and sold into slavery. At an age when she should have been enjoying her childhood, she was subjected to treatment that left her close to death.
The French envoy was notified about "discrimination" towards Russian citizens, it said, adding that "further fanning of anti-Russian sentiments" could damage relations between France and Russia.
In the circumstances, an independent probe alone would establish the truth, starting from Koodangulam. It is more so in the case of Marina violence, which may even at this late hour hold a candle to the events and developments in Thoothukudi, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'You won't find such an apathetic indecisive party in the world.'
The decision to rethink the ban on porn Web sites is the latest reversal of decisions by the Modi Sarkar. Has the Modi Sarkar become a regime of U-turns, asks Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
Prohibition is resulting in prisons getting overcrowded.
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