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SRINAGAR: Chief curate Omar Abdullah Monday kicked disconnected a contention with his remark linking intoxicant depletion to religion, portion defending J&K’s liquor policy. Liquor shops successful the UT are meant for those whose religion allowed them to drink, helium said, stressing that not introducing prohibition did not mean govt wanted to promote intoxicant consumption.“First of all, these liquor shops are for radical whose religion allows them to devour alcohol. Secondly, nary govt successful J&K has banned these shops. It does not mean we privation their usage to increase. Only those whose religion permits intoxicant depletion should usage them. Our religion does not let it and we bash not privation radical to determination towards that path,” the CM said, explaining his earlier connection that cipher was forced to devour alcohol.Omar’s connection has travel astatine a clip erstwhile LG Manoj Sinha has launched a 100-day ‘Nasha Mukt J&K’ run against drugs, with demands from respective quarters that it should beryllium extended to liquor arsenic well.Stating that his govt had taken steps to guarantee younker did not instrumentality to intoxicant consumption, Omar said: “First, we did not unfastened immoderate caller liquor shops. Second, our accordant effort was to guarantee that nary store was located successful a spot wherever it could promote our younker to instrumentality the incorrect path.”
On Sunday, erstwhile asked wherefore liquor shops were near untouched contempt the LG’s anti-drug campaign, the CM said: “Has anyone forced you to drink? You are going to liquor shops by your ain choice. We are not dragging you there. We are not adjacent advertizing liquor sales. Our govt has not accrued the fig of intoxicant shops.”Coming nether occurrence from PDP implicit his refusal to prohibition liquor shops, Omar questioned wherefore the enactment did not bring successful prohibition erstwhile it was successful power.
“What I said yesterday (Sunday) was besides stated connected grounds successful the Assembly by the concern curate of the PDP (govt),” helium added.Reacting to the CM’s comments, PDP’s Iltija Mufti said his assertion lacked logic arsenic Hindu bulk states similar Gujarat and Bihar had banned alcohol. “It is unfortunate that arsenic the main curate of a Muslim-majority region, wherever the overwhelming bulk of the colonisation is Muslim, helium does not respect their values and sensibilities,” Iltija added.Even Omar’s enactment workfellow and National Conference MP Aga Ruhullah favoured a ban, stating that shutting shops would automatically artifact entree to alcohol.In effect to Iltija’s statement, NC insisted that the CM didn’t notation to immoderate religion. A National Conference spokesperson besides stated that PDP had earlier opposed liquor ban.
