Punjab BJP leader and former IAS officer Jagmohan Singh Raju on Tuesday accused the state government of misleading the public over the “holy city” status for Amritsar, alleging that it has weakened the historic safeguards provided under the 1956 Rules prohibition order.
At a press conference in Chandigarh, Raju said the AAP government made a dramatic announcement in the Vidhan Sabha about granting holy city status to Amritsar, but the reality does not match its claims. He asserted that despite the government insisting there was no prior order banning liquor sales and that it was imposing such restrictions for the first time, the 1956 prohibition order had long protected the entire walled city. Instead, the new order restricts liquor sales only within a 200-metre radius of the Golden Temple, he said, representing the KS Raju Legal Trust.
The government’s assembly resolution designated Anandpur Sahib, Talwandi Sabo and the Galiara area around the Golden Temple as holy cities. However, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann later clarified to the media that holy city status would apply to Amritsar’s walled city.
Raju further alleged that until June 2025, the AAP government had publicly stated it would not impose a liquor ban in Amritsar due to revenue concerns. He said the announcement made on November 24 came only after the Punjab and Haryana High Court, acting on a PIL by the KS Raju Legal Trust, issued a notice on November 14 seeking to know why liquor, tobacco and meat should not be prohibited in Amritsar and why the city should not be declared holy. The next hearing is scheduled for December 16.
