Politics over the demand for a liquor ban in Jammu and Kashmir intensified on Friday as workers and leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) staged a protest march in Srinagar, seeking a complete prohibition on the sale and consumption of alcohol in Kashmir valley.
Several BJP leaders and workers assembled near Ram Munshi Bagh Park, close to the heavily secured Gupkar area where Chief Minister Omar Abdullah resides.
As the protesters marched towards the Chief Minister’s residence, the police intervened and detained several BJP leaders who had reached the area.
BJP spokesman Danish Bhat said the party was demanding a complete ban on the sale of liquor in the Valley
“The Omar Abdullah government is actively normalising and promoting liquor culture in Kashmir at the cost of society and the younger generation,” he alleged.
Raising slogans against the ruling government, senior BJP leaders said they would continue their agitation until liquor was banned across the Valley.
They said the protest was aimed at opposing the operation of wine shops in the Kashmir valley and called for a complete ban on the sale and purchase of alcohol.
Officials said the demonstrators dispersed peacefully and the situation returned to normal.
Reacting to the protest, the ruling Jammu and Kashmir National Conference questioned the BJP’s stand.
“Which government was in power in J&K when the 2017 Excise Policy made municipal wards and tehsils the basis for identifying underserved areas? And which government was in office in 2022 when liquor sales were permitted in grocery shops?” the party said.
Calls for a liquor ban have grown in recent weeks amid the ongoing ‘Nasha Mukt J&K Abhiyan’, one of the region’s largest anti-drug campaigns.
Hurriyat Conference chairman and chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said alcohol “deeply harms society” and questioned the logic of cracking down on drugs while ignoring liquor.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah recently sparked controversy when he remarked, “Did anyone force you to drink?” The comment drew criticism, prompting him to issue a clarification later.
National Conference president Farooq Abdullah said this week that even NC founder Sheikh Abdullah had not imposed such a ban, arguing that consumers would continue to procure liquor from outside the Union Territory.
The National Conference and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party traded barbs over the issue earlier this week.
Other parties, including the Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party led by Altaf Bukhari, have also supported the demand for a liquor ban.
