Political temperatures in Bihar, already in the high after the Saran hooch tragedy, after RJD MLC Ram Bali Singh Chandravanshi alleged that his own party leaders, including Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, consume liquor.
Tejashwi Yadav, however, dismissed the claims as "propaganda".
The MLC's revelation came during a 'sting' operation by a private news channel.
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"We are in the government and hence, we are not speaking openly on Chapra hooch tragedy. We are in the middle of people and hence it is necessary to put the truth as well. We have already said that God is not visible and stays everywhere. Similarly, liquor is available everywhere and available with just one phone call to get home delivery. A mafia nexus developed in Bihar for liquor operation and big people are involved in it. Tejashwi Yadav is also drinking liquor," Chandravanshi said, as per the sting operation.
In his response to the allegations, Tejashwi Yadav said: "It is a propaganda running against us. Everyone knows who is setting propaganda and news channels are executing it. They do not see how we are giving jobs to people of Bihar.
"Today, we have announced 85,000 posts for the Home Department, 2 lakh posts are coming in the Education Department and 1.4 lakh posts in the health sector. They just want to defame us. They have nothing to do with real issues. They just believe in propaganda."
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Leader of Opposition in Legislative Council Samrat Chaudhary said: "Nitish Kumar always blamed us for not sharing the details of who is consuming or smuggling liquor in Bihar. Now, the RJD MLC is claiming that Tejashwi Yadav used to consume liquor. Does Nitish Kumar dare to take action against Tejashwi Yadav? Nitish Kumar should clarify whether Tejashwi Yadav consumes liquor or not."
"We demand the state government to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by a Patna high court judge where leaders of every political party would give their views. The allegation leveled by Ram Bali Singh Chandravanshi is very serious and Nitish Kumar should give a statement on it. If Nitish Kumar will act against Tejashwi Yadav on the basis of a statement made by Ram Bali Singh Chandravanshi, BJP will also disclose the names of JD-U leaders who are related to Nitish Kumar and consume liquor," he added.
