Srinagar: The BJP on Friday protested outside the residence of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah demanding a ban on liquor in the Kashmir Valley.The party said that if the National Conference government failed to act, it would launch a second phase of protests in the near future from Qazigund town in South Kashmir to Karnah area on the Line of Control in North Kashmir.BJP’s Altaf Thakur told reporters outside the CM residence, “BJP is against all types of drugs and alcohol. The NC government wants to push the youth of Jammu and Kashmir towards alcohol.” He said, “The way NC officials are making statements in support of sale and consumption of liquor is not acceptable. Kashmir is the land of sages and we will not allow liquor shops in this land.”BJP general secretary Anwar Khan, who participated in the protest, said that if the CM and NC President Farooq Abdullah are concerned about the revenue generated from liquor sales, BJP workers will sit outside mosques and beg for money for the ruling party, but will not allow anyone to play with the future of the youth.Many BJP workers also questioned LG Manoj Sinha’s 100-day campaign against drug addiction and wondered why the sale of liquor was not included in it.However, the police took prompt action against the protesters and pushed them away from the CM residence.BJP spokesperson Sajid Yusuf Shah said at least 10 protesters, including him, were detained by police but released after an hour.On Sunday, CM Abdullah had rejected the call for prohibition in Jammu and Kashmir, rejecting the opposition People’s Democratic Party’s argument that allowing the sale of liquor amounts to encouraging alcohol consumption.After him, Farooq said that his father Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah had refused to impose such a ban in 1977 because it would have generated substantial revenue for the UT (which was a state at that time). He had said, “Even today, if the Government of India compensates us (for revenue loss), I am sure the (Jammu and Kashmir) government will ban liquor.”While Farooq claimed that he does not drink alcohol, he said that banning liquor in Jammu and Kashmir would not stop liquor smugglers from smuggling it from outside.LG Manoj Sinha had launched a 100-day campaign against drugs on April 11, following which demands were raised from various sectors that it should be extended to the sale of liquor.Meanwhile, NC spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar said it was the PDP-BJP government that had implemented an excise policy mandating liquor shops in “unserved and under-served areas” in 2017.