Srinagar: senior leader and MLA Kulgam M Y Tarigami has said that pushing through the liquor bill in J&K should not be a problem as the numbers required for it are there.
“We don’t have our own constitution and we can’t amend the constitution of India; so the liquor ban bill requires only a simple majority to pass in the Assembly. It is not a constitutional amendment. The numbers don’t seem to be a problem for the bill to become law,” Tarigami was quoted as saying by a news agency.
He said it needs to be seen whether the bill will be introduced in the upcoming session of the Assembly. “There is a set procedure and the procedure is that the bill is first introduced and then put up for discussion before being put to vote. If the bill will be in the business of the House in the upcoming Assembly session, we need to see how the government replies to it. But when it comes to numbers and voting, I don’t think that there would be a problem,” he said.
The Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) has expressed strong support for a bill aimed at banning alcohol in the Union Territory.
Congress MLA from Baramulla, Nizamuddin Bhat, said the party sees “ liquor as a social evil”. “Liquor ban bill is a private members bill, we need to see whether it is entertained in the Assembly,” he said.
