PALAMU: Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his call to celebrate World Yoga Day on June 21, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has challenged him to ban liquor in BJP-ruled states, if he was "serious about Yoga".

"Yoga's fist principle is abstinence from consumption of liquor, so if you are serious about promoting Yoga then ban the liquor first," the Chief Minister has said.

Mr Kumar was speaking in Palamu at a conference of his party, the Janata Dal United, to demand prohibition in Jharkhand - a move that's cited as one of the key reasons for his comeback in the assembly elections in the state last year.

But enforcing prohibition in Bihar has become difficult, with liquor shops coming up across the border in neighbouring Jharkhand. This was his second rally in Jharkhand after complete prohibition was put in place in Bihar in the first week of April. Mr Kumar had repeatedly called for a uniform liquor ban in all states.

The comments of Mr Kumar - an avid critic of the Prime Minister -- came after he was targeted for the state government's decision not to observe Yoga Day on June 21.

The Chief Minister's explanation was that Yoga is "not a one-day event but a way of life".

"I don't know for how many years the Prime Minister is doing Yoga, but I'm doing this for several years -- asana, pranayama and yoga nidran," he said. "But Yoga's first principle is to stay away from liquor and you can't have Yoga Day and sale of liquor hand in hand."

The Narendra Modi government is government has turned everything into an "event management (exercise) but it never addressed the real issue," Mr Kumar said.

He also promised that if his party comes in power in Jharkhand, it would implement total prohibition in Jharkhand too.