Image of Sheikh Abdullah replaced with national emblem in JK Police medals
Jammu, May 24: The Jammu and Kashmir government on Monday announced that the image of NC founder and former chief minister 'Sher-i-Kashmir' Sheikh Abdullah embossed on the J&K Police medals for gallantry and meritorious service will be replaced with the national emblem.
An order to this effect was issued by the home department.
The government had earlier renamed Sher-i-Kashmir Police Medals' as Jammu and Kashmir Police Medals'.
"It is hereby ordered that in modification to the Para 4 of the Jammu & Kashmir Police Medal Scheme, the Sher-i-Kashmir Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah embossed on one side of the medal shall be replaced with the National Emblem of Government of India and the other side inscribed with the J&K State Emblem shall be inscribed as Jammu and Kashmir Police Medal for Gallantry' and Jammu and Kashmir Police Medal for Meritorious Service' in case of Gallantry/Meritorious Medal, as the case may be, Financial Commissioner and Additional Chief Secretary Raj Kumar Goyal said in the latest order.
In another order issued on January 25, the General Administration Department had said the nomenclature of Sher-i-Kashmir Police Medals' has been changed to Jammu and Kashmir Police Medals'. The January order came days after the government cancelled holiday on the birth anniversary of Sheikh Abdullah, popularly known as Sher-i-Kashmir'.
The police medals were instituted in 2001 and are given on New Year, Republic Day and Independence Day in two categories -- gallantry and meritorious.
National Conference (NC) on Tuesday termed the removal of the party founder Sheikh Abdullah's picture from Jammu and Kashmir Police medal as a nefarious attempt to erase history, saying Sher-i-Kashmir' will continue to rule the hearts of the people.
With due respect to National Emblem, these attempts to erase our history, identity and icons show nefariousness of those running the show, NC state spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar said here.
Dar said replacing names will not change anything and the NC founder and former chief minister will continue to rule the hearts of the people of J-K.
"People of J-K have struggled on many fronts to be where they are now. They fought oppression, autocracy. No one can change that. Not by replacing/changing names. Sheikh Sb will continue to rule the hearts of people of J-K, no matter what they or their masters do," the spokesperson said.
The Jammu and Kashmir government on Monday announced that the image of the NC founder popularly known as 'Sher-i-Kashmir' embossed on the J-K Police medals for gallantry and meritorious service will be replaced with the national emblem.
An order to this effect was issued by the home department.
The government had earlier renamed Sher-i-Kashmir Police Medals' as Jammu and Kashmir Police Medals'.
Meanwhile, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said Abdullah was a tall personality and replacing his name will make no difference.
It will make no difference to his personality, but I have doubts over the mental balance of the people who did this, because he is such a personality who has played an important role in J-K's history, Mehbooba told reporters here.
The former chief minister said Abdullah gave so many years of his life in serving the people of J-K, brought good laws and played a very important role in joining J-K with India.
If they want to erase the identity of such a leader after 70 years, then what can we say to them other than that it is their mental bankruptcy. When the two-nation theory was being discussed, Sheikh sahib took such a bold decision to join India, a secular country, rather than Pakistan, she said.
CPI(M) leader M Y Tarigami said the BJP's panglossian view of rewriting the history by name changing may favour their narrow communal agenda , but it cannot absolve its complicity from annals.
You cannot erase the contributions and historical significance of Sher-i-Kashmir by petty name changing gimmicks, Tarigami said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
41 lakh illicit liquor seized, 1.84 lakh arrested in major drive: K'taka Minister tells Assembly
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): The Karnataka Excise Department has conducted a statewide crackdown on illegal liquor trade over the last two years, resulting in arrests and seizures of alcohol, Karnataka Excise Minister R B Timmapur said on Tuesday.
As many as 1,09,017 people were arrested, and seizures included 13.66 lakh litres of liquor and 27.19 lakh litres of beer, he said in a written reply to a starred question by Harihar BJP MLA B P Harish in the Karnataka Assembly.
The Minister said the enforcement drive covered the financial year 2023–24, 2024–25 up to June, and 2025–26 from July to October, targeting unauthorised liquor manufacture, storage, sale and transportation across the State.
"During this period, statewide enforcement drives resulted in a total of 1,84,570 raids against illegal liquor sales,” Timmapur said.
ALSO READ: BJP accuses Karnataka govt of 'failing' to prevent noise pollution caused by 'azaan'
He noted that 9,179 non-bailable cases and 91,968 bailable and compoundable cases under Section 15(A) of the Karnataka Excise Act, 1965, were registered during the same period.
According to him, there have been no reports indicating that students have become addicted to alcohol due to illegal liquor sales.
The sale of alcohol to minors is strictly prohibited under the Karnataka Excise Act, 1965, and the department has issued periodic instructions to initiate legal action against violators, with strict enforcement and investigation measures in place, the Minister said.
Excise officials are carrying out regular road and night patrols, collecting intelligence, monitoring habitual offenders and conducting raids to identify illicit distillation units, unauthorised liquor outlets and spurious liquor manufacturing centres, he said, adding the department is also enforcing the law to prevent the production, storage, sale and transport of spurious, non-duty-paid and unauthorised liquor.
Regular patrols are being conducted on national and state highways, with suspicious vehicles being subjected to checks.
At the district level, standing committee meetings are held under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioners, and joint operations are carried out with the police and forest departments to curb excise-related offences.
The department is also conducting awareness programmes through Gram Sabhas and in schools and colleges to educate the public and students about the physical, mental and social health hazards associated with alcohol addiction and substance abuse, Timmapur added.
