Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 15: Charging the BJP-controlled administration of Jammu and Kashmir with encouraging the menace of liquor in the Union Territory (UT), J&K Mahila Congress president and former MLA Indu Pawar today regretted that instead of creating job avenues for the youth, J&K Government is making them boozers.
“The J&K is passing through the darkest period of its history because the BJP-controlled administration in the UT is brazenly encouraging consumption of alcohol by opening wine shops in every nook and corner of the UT”, she said while addressing activists of Mahila Congress during a protest against anti-people policies of the J&K Government.
She mentioned the decision of the J&K Government to allow the selling of beer and other ready-made drinks in departmental stores and argued that this disastrous move of the authorities would encourage the consumption of alcohol. She regretted that Government is deliberately making the youth of J&K addicts of alcohol by allowing the selling of beer in the departmental stores.
She also lambasted the Government for giving license to open wine shops in every street of Jammu city-which is called as “City of Temples”. Pawar said the BJP-controlled administration has already destroyed the sanctity of the City of Temples by opening wine shops everywhere be it near religious places or near educational institutions. She regretted that instead of creating job avenues for the unemployed youth of J&K this regime is rather making them addicts of liquor.
Pointing toward the decision of the J&K government to give a nod to a 17.29 percent hike in power tariff, she said that this is Diwali Gift for the residents of J&K from BJP.
Others who spoke on the occasion were Vandana Maknotra, Suman Choudhery, Reeta Kanojia, Sushma Choudhery, Arti Gupta, Kusum Lata and Amna Kalyan.