‘They’re hooked on it’: AAP MLA Mehraj Malik’s liquor comment on ‘Hindus’ sparks protests in Jammu

Addressing reporters outdoors the Jammu and Kashmir Meeting on Thursday, Malik mentioned, “They (Hindus) won’t shut down liquor outlets as a result of they drink throughout festivals and marriages too. They’re hooked on it.”

Teams together with the Dogra Entrance, Shiv Sena, VHP, Bajrang Dal, and different social organisations staged demonstrations at a number of places.

“He has damage the sentiments of crores of Hindus. Are we addicts, as he mentioned? It’s shameful that he confirmed such hatred towards Hindus. He ought to apologise,” Dogra Entrance Shiv Sena president Ashok Gupta advised reporters.

In Kathua, BJP staff took out a protest march, burnt Malik’s effigy, and raised slogans towards him and Arvind Kejriwal.

“We won’t tolerate his anti-Hindu behaviour. He ought to apologise,” a BJP chief mentioned.

Comparable protests have been held by Sanatan Dharam Sabha and Hindu Sangathan in Kishtwar and Udhampur, demanding an apology.

Whereas discussing calls for for grants within the meeting, Malik’s remarks sparked protests and a heated confrontation with BJP members.

Nevertheless, Speaker Mubarak Gul later expunged his feedback.

Following the outrage, Malik retracted his assertion, saying, “Everybody, together with Hindus and Muslims, drinks liquor, some brazenly and a few behind curtains. If my remarks have disturbed anybody, I apologise. I’ve no intention of injuring anybody’s emotions.”

Who’s Mehraj Malik, AAP’s solely MLA in J&Ok?

Mehraj Malik is the lone AAP MLA in Jammu and Kashmir, having gained the Doda meeting seat in final 12 months’s elections. His victory marked the Aam Aadmi Get together’s entry into the area’s legislative meeting, defeating BJP’s Gajay Singh Rana.

He joined the Aam Aadmi Get together (AAP) in 2013 and was elected as a District Improvement Council (DDC) member from Kahara in 2020. On October 17, 2022, the occasion appointed him as co-chairman of its state coordination committee in Jammu and Kashmir.

Within the 2024 basic elections, he contested as an unbiased candidate from the Udhampur-Kathua Lok Sabha seat, the place Union minister Dr. Jitendra Singh emerged victorious. Malik completed fourth, securing 9,082 votes.

With PTI inputs