Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday urged the Narendra Modi government to impose prohibition in states rules by the Bharatiya Janata Party. He said the ruling party’s step would create a “favourable environment” for ban on sale and consumption of alcohol in the country, reported PTI.

Modi had recently praised Kumar for his efforts to implement prohibition in Bihar. “I thank the PM for praising prohibition in Bihar. I also praise him [PM] for effectively implementing liquor ban in his home state Gujarat during 12 years of his chief ministership,” he said. He was addressing a ‘Chetna Sabha’ during the seventh leg of his ‘Nischay Yatra’. The Bihar government in April 2015 announced a complete ban on alcohol in the state.

Kumar said the crime rate in the state had gone down significantly since the government imposed prohibition. The chief minister said the step had also improved the state’s economy. “Wherever I go, women share pleasant experiences of their lives as a result of the ban on liquor,” he said. The state government has decided to form the world’s longest human chain on January 21 to demonstrate public support for the ban.

States ruled by the BJP, either on its own or in alliance with regional parties, include Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Assam.