Kovind lauds Bihar’s prohibition law, recalls its rich political history

Patna, Oct 21 (PTI):
President Ramnath Kovind on Thursday gave a thumbs up to Bihar’s prohibition law, hailing the Nitish Kumar government for having accorded legal status to one of the Directive Principles of State Policy which have been enshrined in the Constitution.
Addressing a function organised here on the occasion of 100 years of the Bihar Vidhan Sabha Bhavan — the sprawling building that houses the two legislative bodies — Kovind recalled with pride that he was a part of the exercise in his capacity as the then governor
of Bihar.
Fondly remembering his association with the state where his gubernatorial assignment was nearly two years long, the President made an oblique reference to the Emergency and hailed “the extraordinary leadership of Jayaprakash Narayan, a son of Bihar,” when there was an “assault on our democratic values 25 years after India became a republic”.
He also saluted the contribution of the land towards establishing an egalitarian political order recalling that “Chandragupta Maurya, born to a poor woman, went on to become the emperor of Magadha” and late socialist Karpoori Thakur, who became the chief minister of Bihar in 1970, was considered an epitome of integrity and probity.
Noting that the state has been making rapid economic growth in recent times, Kovind also pointed to the entrepreneurial energy exhibited by the Bihari diaspora who have made Chhath a “global festival, known from Nawada to New Jersey and from Begusarai to Boston”.
“The Directive Principles of State Policy call for protecting public health through measures that prevent consumption of intoxicants. It is a Gandhian ideal. The Bihar assembly took the important step of passing a bill based on this constitutional provision and I had the opportunity to give my assent (as governor) and pave way for its becoming a law,” said the President.
Notably, the prohibition law was introduced in April, 2016, in line with an electoral promise by Kumar during the assembly polls held the previous year.
Kovind, who became the President in 2017, was appointed as the governor of Bihar in 2015 and held the post till he was chosen for election to the highest constitutional office.