SRINAGAR: Amid Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s order to shut 717 retail liquor outlets across the state, National Conference president and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah on Tuesday indicated that J&K would not impose a liquor ban, saying that, “if it is not available here, they will bring it from outside.”
“I don’t drink alcohol. Those who drink liquor, they will drink it. If it is not available here, they will bring it from outside. What will we do about it,” Abdullah told reporters on the sidelines of a function today.
Taking a dig at the opposition PDP without naming the party, the NC president said, “Those who are raising voice on the issue, tell them who drinks liquor.”
“I remember that when my father (Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah) won election in 1977, then Indian PM Morarji Desai visited Kashmir and he was against liquor. He told my father to close the liquor shops. My father told him, I don’t drink but if you give us revenue that we earn through liquor sale, we will ban it here,” Abdullah said.
The NC president said that if the Centre extends support, the J&K government could impose a ban on the sale of liquor in the Union Territory “in two minutes.”
Making an indirect attack on PDP, Abdullah said, “We have not opened liquor shops. When these were being opened, why did they not raise their voice then? I want to question them, why they did not raise their voice when the liquor shops were opening in every village”.
The liquor issue is heating up in J&K with the opposition PDP, J&K Grand Mufti, religious leaders and disgruntled NC MP Aga Ruhullah demanding a complete ban on the sale and purchase of liquor in the UT to save future generations from falling prey to liquor addiction.
J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had sparked a controversy by defending the sale of liquor by saying, “No one was being compelled to consume alcohol and people visit liquor outlets by their own choice”.
After the statement evoked strong criticism from PDP and religious leaders, CM yesterday said the (liquor) shops are meant specifically for those individuals whose religious beliefs permit them to consume alcohol.
He said no government in Jammu and Kashmir till date has imposed a complete ban on these liquor shops. “That does not mean that we wish to encourage its increased consumption. It means that those whose religious tenets permit the use or consumption of liquor are free to do so”.
“Our religion does not grant us such permission and nor do we desire that people should go toward this path. Our administration has implemented two or three key measures. First, we have not opened any new liquor shops. Second, we have made every concerted effort to ensure that no such shop is situated in a location where it might tempt youth to stray down the wrong path,” the CM said.
In response to the CM's statement, the opposition PDP leader Iltija Mufti said, “JK CM’s expected U-turn on the refusal to prohibit liquor shops lacks logic. He claims it’s wrong to impose a ban on Hindus consuming alcohol since their religion doesn’t forbid it. If this is the case how have Hindu majority states like Gujarat & Bihar banned alcohol successfully without a whimper?”
“We are proud of J&Ks secular credentials but deeply unfortunate & insensitive for its Chief Minister to dismiss the religious sensibilities of the majority with such indifference,” said Iltija, whose X account has been blocked.
The Grand Mufti has demanded a complete ban on the sale and purchase of liquor in Jammu and Kashmir, saying liquor is the root of all evils.