Two legislators from the ruling National Conference (NC) and Opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have separately submitted private members’ bills seeking a ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol, threatening to reverse the lieutenant governor administration’s push to boost sales.
The bills will be tabled in the upcoming budget session of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly that begins on March 3.
Around 800 questions alongside 80 private members’ bills, including those seeking a ban on alcohol, have been submitted by 82 MLAs for the three-week session.
Different sections of Kashmiris, including the Ulema, have been calling for a ban on alcohol that they say
is un-Islamic.
The NC and PDP legislators, it seems, want their parties to be seen spearheading the anti-liquor campaign.
The NC MLA from Lal Chowk, Ahsan Pardesi, has moved the party’s bill that seeks a ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages in Kashmir and the Muslim-majority districts of Jammu.
PDP’s Kupwara legislator Fayaz Ahmad Mir has sought a ban on the “advertisement, sale, purchase, consumption and manufacture of alcoholic drinks” in the whole of Jammu and Kashmir.
“Alcohol consumption is ravaging lives across Jammu and Kashmir and presents a grave threat to the very fabric of our society. Since 2019 the issue has been compounded by its easy availability because of the mushrooming of liquor stores. Kudos to PDP MLA@MirMohdFayaz for introducing a private bill seeking a ban on alcohol consumption. Much needed,” PDP leader and Mehbooba Mufti’s daughter Iltija Mufti posted on X.
Pardesi said the consumption of alcohol was forbidden in Islam and it went against the region’s deep-rooted Sufi-Rishi traditions.
“Islam prohibits alcohol and Jammu and Kashmir has a Muslim majority. Bihar is not a Muslim-majority state but if it can be banned there, why not here?” Pardesi said.
“The unchecked sale of alcohol contradicts our religious and social ethos. Our heritage has always stood against intoxicants and this bill is a step towards upholding those values,” he added.
The NC MLA said alcohol contributed to crime, moral decline and addiction. “We are battling a drug crisis and easy availability of alcohol will only worsen the situation,”
he said.
Last year, police were forced to arrest two tourists for consuming alcohol at a public place and uploading videos on social media.
The Muttahida Majlis-e-Ulama, an association of religious scholars, had been leading the campaign for a ban on liquor. Militants had enforced a ban on the sale and consumption of liquor for years after 1989.