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Turn Off The Lights And Drink Juice, Same As Having Alcohol, Says Teetotaller Nitish Kumar

Literally can't even.
Chief Minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar, addresses a rally in Greater Noida, India.
Hindustan Times via Getty Images
Chief Minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar, addresses a rally in Greater Noida, India.

For those of you fond of your occasional tipple, try not to hold this against Nitish Kumar, the teetotaller Chief Minister of Bihar who has imposed complete prohibition in his state.

Kumar has this strange advice for drinkers.

"Try turning off the lights and drinking juice in the dark, you will feel the same (as consuming booze)," Kumar said. "Such big positive change has come in, why ruin it for a peg or two?"

Kumar declared Bihar a dry state in April and insisted that the liquor ban has vastly improved life in the rural areas. However, there have been hooch deaths in Bihar after the ban, which Kumar has dismissed as isolated incidents and not failure of prohibition.

The controversial Bihar Prohibition and Excise Bill 2016 was passed by Bihar Governor Ram Nathan Kovind earlier this month. Under its provision, all adult members of a family could be arrested if a bottle of liquor is found in their house, sparking fears that it would become a tool for harassment in the hands of the powerful.

Kumar's advice has predictably prompted sharp reactions from people who take both their juice and alcohol seriously.

Twitter seems to have come to the conclusion that Kumar has neither tasted juice or alcohol if he thinks both beverages can pass for each other.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.