Srinagar, May 11 -- Srinagar MP Agha Ruhullah Mehdi on Monday said liquor outlets themselves should not exist, asserting that shutting down wine shops would automatically prevent access to alcohol, a day after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said nobody was being forced to consume liquor.

Addressing reporters, Ruhullah said the ruling National Conference had promised during the election campaign to regulate and ban liquor sales and close wine shops for locals.

"No one is forced to take drugs, yet governments act against drugs and try to ban them. Similarly, liquor shops should not exist," he said.

Referring to Omar Abdullah's remarks, Ruhullah said the Chief Minister's response was "arrogant, unethical and illogical" and against the promi...