Srinagar: In the backdrop of a widening row over liquor outlets, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Tuesday reignited the debate, insisting that Jammu and Kashmir could outlaw alcohol “within minutes” if New Delhi agreed to offset the revenue loss.
Abdullah, who clarified that he himself does not consume liquor, argued that banning sales would not end drinking habits.
“I don’t drink. Those who do will continue. If they don’t get it here, they’ll fetch it from outside,” he said, while questioning the sincerity of those raising objections.
Recalling a precedent from 1977, Abdullah said former Prime Minister Morarji Desai had urged his father, Sheikh Abdullah, to halt alcohol sales.
“My father told him, if the Centre replaces the revenue, we’ll stop it. Nothing happened. Even today, if they compensate, the ban can be imposed instantly,” he said while talking to reporters in Srinagar.
NC chief accused rivals of politicising the issue, pointing out that liquor shops had been opened earlier without protest.
“We didn’t open these stores. Others did. Why was there silence then, when shops were mushrooming in villages?” he asked.
Meanwhile, he charged the PDP with exploiting the controversy for political mileage. “They criticise us over everything. They think we fear them, but we’ll defeat them in a way they won’t forget,” Abdullah said.
The controversy intensified after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah recently said that liquor consumption was a matter of personal choice.
On this PDP leader Iltija Mufti accused him of disregarding the sensitivities of the Muslim-majority region. Omar later clarified, saying his words were being “twisted” by opponents, stressing that alcohol was not meant for Muslims but for communities whose faith permitted it.
Farooq Abdullah when asked about the escalating fuel and gas crisis linked to tensions between Iran and the United States, “We are staring at destruction. If this conflict doesn’t end, only God knows what awaits us,” he warned,
On Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s austerity appeal, Abdullah said the country was heading into troubled times. He added that online education was failing to reach poorer households.
“It is tragic that the poor lack access. Education is vital, but online learning isn’t possible for everyone,” he said.
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