Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
* SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal announces party will hold four massive Dharnas on border to
pressurise BSF to stop drugs from entering Punjab territory
Chandigarh, The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has decided to take the lead in the campaign for eradication of drugs from India by organising four massive protest Dharnas on the international border on January 5 to pressurise the Border Security Force (BSF) to stop drugs from entering Punjab territory from Pakistan.
Announcing this here today, SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal said the four Dharnas would be held at Attari international border, at the Sadki check post at Fazilka, Hussainiwala international border and at the Gurdaspur international border.
“Punjab and the nation are suffering from the ill effects of narco terrorism due to continuous smuggling of narcotics from Pakistan into Punjab through the international border. The border is guarded by the BSF which is a central agency over which we do not have any control. This smuggling must stop and the border with Pakistan must be completely sealed. Then only can we fight a national war against drugs”, the SAD President said.
Mr Badal announced that all Dharnas would be 100 per cent peaceful. He said Punjabis felt it was necessary to congregate at the border as they were being branded as drug addicts despite waging the nation’s fight against drugs. He said this included arresting more than 25,000 persons. “If we had not taken this tough stand and seized the drugs they would have travelled into India and created even more havoc”. The SAD president also stressed that the issue was in the limelight today because the Punjab government decided to wage a war against drugs. “It is because of us that the fight against drugs is entering a decisive phase in India”, he added.
Mr Badal said Punjab did not manufacture a single gram of drugs which were coming into the State from Pakistan or other States in India including Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. “Now we want a cap on both these sources of drug production”.
The SAD President also highlighted the fact that Punjab was the most pro active of all States as far as registering cases under the NDPS Act was concerned. “Drug availability and consumption is prevalent in other States also but their governments have not been as vigilant as Punjab”. Mr Badal said according to recent information released by the National Crime Report Bureau (NCRB), Punjab had the best record as far as registering cases under the NDPS Act were concerned. He said according to figures for 2013 as many as 16464 cases had been registered under the NDPS Act in Punjab in comparison to only 55 cases registered by Goa and 756 cases by Maharashtra during the same period. “Both Goa and Maharashtra are places known for rave parties and easy availability of drugs indicating many States have not taken adequate steps to curb drug addiction as has been done by Punjab”, he said.
Asserting that Punjabis were true patriots, Mr Badal said “we are a martial race which has been at the forefront earlier in defending the country and making the country self sufficient on the food front. Presently we are fighting the nation’s war against drugs and no one should try to brand us as drug addicts due to political considerations alone.
Mr Badal also appealed to Punjabis to congregate at all four dharna sites on January 5 to send a message to the country that Punjab is at the vanguard in the war against drugs and loopholes wherever existing should be plugged immediately.
The SAD president will himself address the protest dharna at Attari. Dharnas at all four places will be held from 12 to 2 pm. EOM
