Bihar hooch tragedy: 'He promised...', Sushil Modi slams Nitish on compensation
Chhapra fake liquor deaths: Over 100 people have died in this district , BJP leader and former Bihar deputy CM Sushil Modi said.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sushil Modi slammed Nitish Kumar Monday after the Bihar chief minister said last week that the families of those who had died after consuming spurious liquor would not receive compensation. He claimed 'media reports' to remind the Janata Dal (United) boss he had promised ₹4 lakh in such cases. "... in Khajurbani compensation was given... Why not in Saran tragedy?" he asked.
"In 2018, as per media reports, chief minister Nitish Kumar said compensation will be given if liquor proved to be cause of death. He promised ₹4 lakhs to kin of hooch victims..." he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Bihar - nominally a dry state since April 2016 - has been rocked by (yet another) wave of deaths linked to consumption of spurious liquor.
Media reports indicate over 65 people have died in Saran district since December 14 and another 70-odd have died in Chhapra.
READ | Bihar hooch tragedy toll at 70, authorities say tally could rise
The ruling JD(U)-Rashtriya Janata Dal alliance - formed in August after Nitish dumped long-time allies BJP in favour of Lalu Prasad Yadav's outfit - has been hammered by the opposition over the deaths and its prohibition policy.
Modi - once close to Nitish - has been leading the charge; on Sunday he claimed the families of those who died were rushing funeral rites due to 'fear of police'.
Modi also claimed - as has junior union home minister Nityanand Rao - the state has been 'hiding' the actual number of deaths. "The death toll has crossed 100 but the government is hiding the numbers. Due to fear of police, people are performing the last rites without a post-mortem," he told reporters in Patna.
READ | Two liquor mafia members held over Bihar hooch case
On Saturday the former deputy CM met some of these families.
Most of the reported deaths took place Wednesday and Thursday last week, triggering a furious face-off inside and outside the Assembly, during which Nitish Kumar lost his cool and declared, "No compensation will be provided to people who die after consuming spurious liquor... If you drink, you will die."
The state government has, however, suspended five policemen from Chhapra district, according to ANI, which also reported five more deaths from Siwan.
Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has claimed suo-moto cognisance and said it will depute a team for an 'on-the-spot' inquiry.