Patna: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)’s visit to Bihar to probe into the recent hooch tragedy – which saw several people dead upon consumption of spurious liquor – has come under fierce attack from the constituent parties of the state’s ruling coalition.Barring leaders from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), leaders from other parties termed the move “partisan” in nature and questioned why similar inquiries were not conducted in the BJP-ruled of Gujarat, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh when apparently such incidents took place in the past. They called it “propaganda” unleashed by the BJP to defame the state government, led by chief minister Nitish Kumar.In the both Houses of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, Janata Dal (United) [JD (U)] and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MPs have already protested NHRC’s visit to the state to probe into the tragedy. According to official figures, 37 persons died after consuming spurious liquor at Masrakh in north Bihar’s Saran district last week.The NHRC team, led by its member Rajeev Jain, landed in Bihar on December 21. Members of the team interacted with the Bihar chief secretary and then proceeded to Saran and Siwan districts to take stock of the situation arising out of the tragedy. During their two-day visit to the state, they interacted with the families of the deceased and the local police.Also read: Bihar: As Hooch Tragedy Toll Rises, NHRC to Send Spot Investigation Team“Why did the NHRC visit only Bihar? Other states too have witnessed deaths due to the consumption of spurious liquor. Why did the human rights body avoid visiting other states?” chief minister Nitish Kumar asked on December 22, the day when the NHRC team was in the state.The NHRC was formed based on a parliament act and is mandated to “inquire into the complaints of human rights violation covering a broad range of human rights from across the country. It can take suo-motu cognisance of the cases of human rights violation coming to its notice”. Criticism over NHRC probeTaking a dig at NHRC, chief minister Nitish Kumar sought to underline that an NHRC probe was not required, as it went against the powers vested with states under the constitution. “The constitutional provisions related to liquor are very clear. The constitution empowers the states to formulate policies related to liquor. Our government is meticulously probing all the aspects of the hooch tragedy,” he said.On the other hand, Manoj Jha, RJD leader and Rajya Sabha MP, in a notice to the Rajya Sabha chairman said, “The NHRC’s Bihar visit amounts to encroaching upon the state subjects. More people have died in hooch tragedy in Gurajat, Haryana, and other BJP-ruled states. Why has the NHRC picked only Bihar? Moreover, in no way, do the deaths due to consuming spurious liquor come under the purview of human rights.”Family mourns the demise of a man who died after drinking spurious liquor in Saran district in Bihar. Photo: PTI.Another MP, Rajeev Ranjan alias Lallan, JD(U)’s national president and Lok Sabha member, on December 20, said, “How is a hooch tragedy a violation of human rights? The Centre should stop flagrant misuse of constitutional institutions. Why did the NHRC not visit Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh – all the BJP-ruled states which have witnessed more deaths than in Bihar due to hooch tragedies?”Lallan was not wrong, as Gujarat saw 50 deaths (official figure) due to the consumption of spurious liquor in July this year. Gujarat, like Bihar, is a state sale and the consumption of liquor is prohibited.Also read: Liquor Ban Has Failed in Both Bihar and Gujarat. But Political Battle Continues Over Hooch TragedyJD(U) spokesman and Patna’s noted ophthalmologist, Dr. Sunil Kumar Singh, described NHRC as a “caged parrot like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) speaking the language that its political masters teaching it”.Outrage against NHRCIn fact, the NHRC by choosing to visit Bihar in the wake of the hooch tragedy has outraged civil society too in the state.“Police broke into the premises of the Aligarh Muslim University, Jamia Milia Islamia, and other institutions beating up students with all barbarity. These acts of highhandedness on the part of the police should have drawn the NHRC’s attention,” said Afaq Ahmad, professor of Mass Communication at a Gurugram-based institution and former students’ leader of the AMU.There are several complaints of police misusing terrorism-related laws and investigating agencies, particularly against minorities in Uttar Pradesh.“Hardly a day goes by without bulldozers tearing down Muslim establishments in Uttar Pradesh,” said Shamim Sultani, a Bareilly-based Samajwadi Party leader, adding, “38% of the prisoners in Uttar Pradesh jails hailed from the Muslim community, but the NHRC is silent.”Incidentally, the police seized 934 carton boxes of liquor with the brand name ‘Imperial Blue’, which is estimated to be worth Rs 80 lakh from the establishments of Sanjay Singh, a Mukhia (Panchayat head) and active worker of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-Bharatiya Janata Party (RSS-BJP) at Bikram on Patna’s outskirts on the day the NHRC team landed in Patna.Police at Bikram Police Station registered a first information report (FIR) against Sanjay and five of his associates in connection with the seizure of illegal liquor from a warehouse registered in Sanjay’s name. The warehouse was inaugurated by senior BJP leader and former agriculture minister Amarendradhari Singh six months ago.The in-charge of the Bikram block unit of the CPI-ML (Liberation) Mantu Kumar Yadav said, “Sanjay and his family members are active RSS-BJP cadres. Sanjay also worked as booth in-charge for the BJP at a Bikram booth in the 2020 assembly elections and 2019 Lok Sabha elections.”The NHRC team, which interacted with the policemen in Saran and Siwan, didn’t inquire into the seizure of the illicit liquor from the warehouse of Sanjay Singh.However, the BJP has justified the NHRC’s visit to Bihar. “Hundreds of people have died in the recent hooch tragedy. They all belong to the weaker sections of society. Their bodies had been cremated without a post-mortem,” said the BJP MP from Patna, Ravishankar Prasad.Another senior BJP MP Sushil Kumar Modi too said, “The NHRC is an autonomous institution. It has a constitutional mandate to decide what comes under the purview of human rights.”Nalin Verma is a senior journalist, media educator and independent researcher in social anthropology.