Overview
- After telling reporters Sunday that “no one is being forced” to drink, the chief minister on Monday called the remark hurried and said licensed shops serve people whose faith permits alcohol.
- Farooq Abdullah on Tuesday said J&K could impose prohibition if New Delhi covers the lost excise income, while arguing drinkers would still source liquor from outside the region.
- PDP’s Iltija Mufti, Hurriyat cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and NC MP Aga Ruhullah urged a ban, saying the anti-drug push rings hollow if alcohol sales continue, and BJP figures also backed prohibition.
- Published data cited across reports show about 305 licensed vends in J&K with roughly 291 in Jammu and around 14 in the Kashmir division, and excise receipts near ₹2,152 crore over recent years.
- The row unfolds during a 100‑day Nasha Mukt J&K campaign that police say has produced hundreds of FIRs and arrests, yet the government has announced no change to liquor policy, signaling a revenue-versus-enforcement stalemate.