Summary of this article
Police stopped a protest march of the BJP demanding a complete ban on liquor in Jammu and Kashmir, and detained some party leaders temporarily.
Scores of BJP workers assembled near the Ram Munshi Bagh Park here and tried to take out a protest march towards the residence of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah at Gupkar.
They shouted slogans demanding a complete ban on liquor in the Union territory.
The usually serene stretch leading toward Gupkar Road, home to Jammu and Kashmir’s political elite, transformed into a theatre of slogans and scuffles this Friday. Scores of BJP leaders and workers, fuelled by a singular demand for a "liquor-free" Union Territory, found their march abruptly halted by a heavy police presence just short of their destination: the residence of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
The air near Ram Munshi Bagh Park was thick with more than just the mid-May heat. For the protestors, the demonstration was less about policy and more about the "moral fabric" of the region. As they assembled in a sea of saffron, their chants for a complete ban on liquor echoed through the streets—a plea they claimed represented the silent anxieties of families across the valley. To the men and women marching, the bottles on the shelves symbolize a growing social crisis they believe the current administration is ignoring.
The Stand-Off at the Gates
The momentum of the march, however, hit a definitive roadblock near the Chief Minister's high-security enclave. Srinagar Police, tasked with maintaining the delicate peace of the capital, moved in to intercept the crowd. What followed was a brief, tense standoff. Officials confirmed that several party leaders were taken into temporary custody as they tried to bypass the barricades, their voices still raised in protest even as they were led to police vehicles.
A Quiet Dissolution
Despite the initial friction, the scene did not escalate into the chaos often associated with valley politics. By late afternoon, the officials reported that the remaining workers were dispersed peacefully. While the streets of Gupkar have returned to their quiet, guarded state, the message left behind by the BJP remains hanging in the air. For a few hours, the political battle wasn't over land or status, but over the glass and the bottle, humanizing a legislative demand into a visible, emotional struggle on the pavement.
