Vishwa Hindu Parishad's Praveen Togadia asked for a national ban on alcohol, praising Nitish Kumar.

Vishwa Hindu Parishad's Praveen Togadia today hailed Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for enforcing prohibition in the state and said that he would like to see the ban extend to the entire country."I salute Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for enforcing total prohibition in Bihar. This is a historic step and prohibition should be imposed in the entire country," Mr Togadia said.Speaking in Patna, not far from the chief minister's office, Mr Togadia said that a ban on sale and consumption of alcohol would help alleviate poverty, as money spent on alcohol would now be either saved or used to buy essentials only."People can be protected from lots of diseases if prohibition is enforced," he added.Making an appeal to other states to also impose a similar ban on alcohol, Mr Togadia said that the Vishwa Hindu Parishad under its 'India Health Line' initiative had launched a national de-addiction campaign to help youth addicted to drugs and alcohol.

Mr Togadia also claimed that the de-addiction camps organized by the Parishad so far had received a good response from the people, and that plans were being readied to hold similar camps in several others states including states with a BJP government.The Nitish Kumar government enforced total prohibition in Bihar this April drawing a mixed response from the people. Sale, consumption, marketing or manufacture of liquor is completely banned in the state.