Srinagar, May 11 — Peoples Democratic Party leader Iltija Mufti on Monday criticised Chief Minister Omar Abdullah over his refusal to impose a ban on liquor in Jammu and Kashmir, calling his remarks “illogical” and insensitive to the sentiments of the Muslim-majority region.
Mufti was reacting to Abdullah’s remarks made in Ganderbal on Sunday, where he said liquor shops existed to serve people belonging to faiths in which alcohol consumption was not forbidden and asserted that the government was not forcing anyone to drink.
“Is anyone forcing them to drink? You are going to (a wine) shop on your own will. Why are you going there? We are not dragging you there. We are not advertising it,” Abdullah had told reporters.
Responding to the statement, Mufti questioned the Chief Minister’s argument that banning liquor would amount to imposing restrictions on communities whose religion permits alcohol consumption.
“J-K CM’s expected U-turn on the refusal to prohibit liquor shops lacks logic. He claims it is wrong to impose a ban on Hindus consuming alcohol since their religion does not forbid it,” Mufti said in a post on X.
“If this is the case, how have Hindu majority states like Gujarat and Bihar banned alcohol successfully without a whimper?” she asked.
The PDP leader said Jammu and Kashmir’s secular character should not come at the cost of ignoring the religious sensitivities of the majority population.
“We are proud of J-K’s secular credentials, but deeply unfortunate and insensitive for its chief minister to dismiss religious sensibilities of the majority with such indifference,” she added.
The remarks come amid a renewed political debate over the sale and consumption of alcohol in Jammu and Kashmir, with several religious and political groups demanding restrictions on liquor outlets across J&K.