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Punjab: Holy city announcement for Amritsar an eyewash, alleges Raju
Raju claimed that the AAP government was on record, as late as June 2025, to say that it will not prohibit liquor in Amritsar, as the move will cause a loss of revenue to the state.
Punjab BJP leader and former IAS officer Jagmohan Singh Raju on Tuesday accused the Punjab government of playing with the sentiments of the people on the issue of “holy city” status for Amritsar by “diluting” the historic protections granted to the city under the 1956 Rules prohibition order.
Addressing a press conference here, Raju said that while the AAP government theatrically announced holy city status for Amritsar in the Vidhan Sabha, the facts tell a very different story. He said the state government claimed that there was no official order banning the sale of liquor and he was the first one to do so, the fact is that the 1956 Rules liquor prohibition order had safeguarded the entire walled city for decades. “The state government order imposed a liquor ban on only a 200-metre galiara around the Golden Temple,” he claimed, speaking on behalf of the KS Raju Legal Trust. The government, in its resolution in the state assembly, declared Anandpur Sahib, Talwandi Sabo and the galiara area around the Golden Temple in Amritsar as holy cities. However, chief minister Bhagwant Mann later told reporters that holy city status will be granted to Amritsar walled city.
Raju claimed that the AAP government was on record, as late as June 2025, to say that it will not prohibit liquor in Amritsar, as the move will cause a loss of revenue to the state. He said the AAP government’s announcement on November 24 came only after the Punjab and Haryana high court issued a notice on 14 November in response to the PIL filed by the KS Raju Legal Trust asking it to explain as to why liquor, tobacco and meat should not be banned in Amritsar and why Amritsar not be declared a holy city. The next hearing is scheduled for December 16.
