CM Omar Abdullah Faces Firestorm Over Liquor Shop Remarks

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has found himself at the centre of a political and social storm after publicly defending the presence of liquor shops in the Union Territory, even as the administration leads an aggressive campaign against rising drug abuse. 

His remarks?delivered casually on the sidelines of an event in Ganderbal near here?triggered a wave of criticism from the public, religious groups,



and opposition parties, forcing him to issue a clarification a day later.

Abdullah initially argued that visiting such shops was a matter of personal choice, not government coercion. 

?No one is being compelled to consume alcohol. People go there by their own choice. We are not dragging anyone,? he said, responding to concerns that the availability of liquor undermines the ongoing anti?drug drive.