Bihar State Chief Nitish Kumar on Thursday made a controversial remark about people dying after consuming alcohol.
The statement came amid rising criticism of his government over the deaths of 39 persons who allegedly lost their lives after drinking toxic liquor in the Saran district.
"Those who drink liquor will obviously die. We have an example in this case," Kumar stated in response to a query in the state capital Patna.
The Bihar state chief even rejected the opposition BJP's demand to provide compensation to family members of the victims, saying people shouldn't have broken the law.
The sale, distribution, and consumption of liquor was prohibited in the state since 2016.
He, however, argued that this wasn't the first time when people have died after consuming illicit alcohol, adding people were killed due to such liquor even when prohibition wasn't in effect in the state.
"People have died in huge numbers in other states as well," he mentioned.
On Wednesday, Kumar broke into an angry outburst at the BJP lawmakers in the state assembly after the opposition party protested against his government's inaction over the deaths.
The 71-year-old politician even took a "you are drunk" swipe at the BJP legislators.
Bihar and Gujarat are two of the big states where prohibition is in place. Among smaller states, the northeastern states of Nagaland and Mizoram have implemented such policies.