Opposition to corner govt on prohibition issue today

PATNA: The government on Monday did not concede to the opposition’s demand for allotment of time by Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha for a special debate on the status of prohibition and its fallout in the state. It instead asked the opposition to speak on it during the House debate on the budgetary demand of the home department on Tuesday.The government side, represented before the Speaker by deputy CM Tarkishore Prasad, parliamentary affairs minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary and minister Shrawan Kumar, maintained that the imposition of prohibition in the state had now largely become policing affair, and, therefore, it would be proper to discuss the related matters during the House debate on the budgetary demand of the home department.Last Wednesday, the opposition led by Tejashwi Prasad Yadav had demanded special discussion on prohibition and CM Nitish Kumar’s reply to it. The Speaker had then said that he would give his ruling on their demand at a meeting of the legislature party leaders of all the political parties on Monday. Those from opposition who participated in the meeting convened by the Speaker in his chamber on Monday were Tejashwi and Lalit Kumar Yadav from the RJD, Ajeet Sharma from the Congress, Mahboob Alam from the CPI(ML), Akhtarul Iman from the AIMIM. Former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi also attended the meeting.During the question hour in the assembly on Monday, deputy CM Tarkishore Prasad took strong exception to the unbecoming remark made by Tejashwi on the “unconvincing” reply given by sugar cane minister Pramod Kumar to a short-notice question from him.After CPI(ML) member Mahboob Alam raised the issue of suicide by five members of a family in Supaul district in the face of starvation, the Speaker asked Tarkishore to take note of it and do the needful.