In the legal notice served to Modi yesterday through his counsel Sanjay Singh, Principal Secretary (Excise, Provision and Registration) Pathak, has asked the BJP leader to clarify within 15 days whether he had made those remarks or the media reported the same on its own.
Annexing a copy of the report published in a vernacular daily on May 5, Pathak described Modi's reported remarks as "indecent, unlawful, disgraceful and derogatory" and added that his "sentiment and dignity have been hurt by it".
Asserting that there is a provision for annual health check of serving bureaucrats under their service rules, Pathak said Modi, being a former deputy chief minister, finance minister and labour minister of Bihar himself, is supposed to know about it.
Pathak has been under sharp attack from the opposition for strict enforcement of prohibition in Bihar which came into force from April 5, under which consumption, manufacturing and transportation of all types of liquor and palm juice, called Tadi in local parlance, is strictly banned in the state.