Patna

Fresh tension erupted between BJP and Janata Dal (United) in Bihar as the former’s state president (SC Morcha) Ajit Choudhary criticized Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over the prohibition law in the state and called him an autocratic leader.

"If you want your allies along with you to run the government, then listen to them too. We asked him to review the prohibition law. Is that a wrong question to ask? He has double standards and it won't work," he said.

"How many poor people can afford liquor? Nitish Kumar has become completely autocratic, who has got power for 16 years," he said.

Bihar has been under total prohibition since April 5, 2016, but bootlegging has been widespread in many parts of the state. Nitish Kumar has refused to reconsider any relaxation in prohibition.

On Saturday, at least four people died and three fell critically ill after drinking spurious liquor in Nalanda district.

Last month, another NDA ally and Hindustani Awam Morcha leader Jitan Ram Manjhi also criticized the prohibition and advocated that poor people should be allowed to drink at their homes after 10 pm.

The BJP is the dominant partner in the NDA government with 74 MLAs while the JD(U) has 45 legislators.