Srinagar: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah He sparked a controversy on Monday by linking drinking to religion while defending Johnson & Johnson’s alcohol policy. Utah’s liquor stores are for those whose beliefs allow drinking, he said, stressing that not imposing a ban does not mean the government wants to encourage drinking.“Firstly, these liquor shops are opened for people whose religion allows drinking. Secondly, the J&K government has not banned these shops. It does not mean that we want their use to increase. Only those whose religion allows drinking should use them. Our religion does not allow this and we do not want people to take this path,” the CM said while explaining his previous statement that no one is forced to drink alcohol.Omar’s statement comes as LG Manoj Sinha launches the 100-day ‘Nasha Mukt J&K’ anti-drugs campaign, with demands from multiple quarters that the campaign should be extended to liquor as well.Umar said his government has taken steps to ensure that young people do not indulge in alcohol abuse, saying: “Firstly, we have not opened any new liquor shops. Secondly, our consistent efforts are to ensure that no shop is located in a place that may encourage our youth to take the wrong path.”On Sunday, when asked why liquor shops were not affected despite LG’s anti-drug campaign, the chief minister said: “Is anyone forcing you to drink? It is your choice to go to liquor shops. We will not drag you there. We are not even advertising the sale of liquor. Our government has not increased the number of liquor shops.”Omar, who has been criticized by the HDP for refusing to ban liquor shops, questioned why the party did not implement the ban when it was in power. “What I said yesterday (Sunday) was also recorded in Parliament by the People’s Democratic Party (government) Finance Minister,” he added.Reacting to the chief minister’s comments, PDP’s Iltija Mufti said his statement lacked logic as alcohol is already banned in Hindu-majority states like Gujarat and Bihar. “It is unfortunate that as the chief minister of a Muslim-majority region, where the vast majority of the population is Muslim, he has no respect for their values and sentiments,” Irtija added.Even Omar’s party colleague Aga Ruhura, a member of the National Conference, favored the ban, saying closing shops would automatically stop people from buying alcoholic beverages.Reacting to Irtija’s statement, the NC maintained that the chief minister did not mention any religion. The National Conference spokesperson also said that the People’s Democratic Party had earlier opposed the prohibition of liquor.
