After Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s public support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on demonetisation move, both leaders were full of praise for each other for their respective actions taken for prohibition.
Hailing Nitish Kumar's decision of imposing prohibition in Bihar, Modi urged all political parties and people to back his move.
Modi termed Nitish Kumar's decision of prohibition a "brave step" for social change and said, "Taking an initiative for social change is very difficult, but Nitish Kumar has initiated it by enforcing prohibition."
"I greet Nitish Kumar from the core of my heart for launching a campaign against liquor," the PM said as Nitish and his ally RJD President Lalu Prasad shared the dais with him during the concluding function of 350th Prakash Parva of 10th Sikh Guru Govind Singh here.
"But, this work (prohibition) would not be a grand success only by efforts of Nitish Kumar or one party. All the political parties, social organisations and citizens have to participate in it to make it a 'jan-jan ka andolan' (peoples movement)," Modi said.
Bihar will become an example for the entire country through successful implementation of prohibition, the PM said.
The PM's mention of prohibition came in response to the Bihar Chief Minister's request to him to spread prohibition across the country. Fulfilling its poll promise, Nitish Kumar government had imposed total prohibition in Bihar.
Modi mentioned Nitish Kumar not less than a dozen times during his address while he heaped praises for holding the Prakash Utsav and his decision of total prohibition.
"Nitish Kumar, his government and the people of Bihar deserve credit for making arrangement on such a large scale for holding the Prakash Utsav," Modi said while addressing the main function in the Darbar Hall of a makeshift gurdwara in a "tent city", set up in historical Gandhi Maidan, in the heart of Patna.
Earlier in his address, Nitish hailed Modi for successfully implementing the liquor ban in Gujarat for 12 years when he served as the Chief Minister of the state.
“Our respected Prime Minister was CM for 12 years and he implemented liquor prohibition very effectively in Gujarat,” Nitish said.
Prohibition has been in force in Gujarat since its inception.
The JD (U) chief has openly backed PM Modi’s decision to scrap Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes to fight the black money, contrary to the stand taken by other opposition parties including his allies Congress and RJD.
The Prime Minister praised Nitish for supporting demonetisation after the winter session of Parliament was washed out due to protests by a united opposition on note ban.
In 2013, Nitish ended an 18-year-alliance with the BJP over its decision to pick Modi as its Prime Ministerial candidate.
The two leaders led a shrill campaign in the 2015 Assembly elections against each other with Kumar, in alliance with RJD, handing down a humiliating defeat to BJP.
