Painting of Punjab as drug state by Baba Ramdev amounts to indictment: Manpreet

Chandigarh, May 9: People’s party of Punjab chief Manpreet Singh Badal today said terming Punjab as a drug state by Baba Ramdev was a serious issue coming from one of the biggest supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party and amounted to indictment of the Akali Dal-BJP alliance government in the state.

“Baba Ramdev has taken a strong note of the alarming situation in Punjab saying that 80 per cent of the youth in the state have fallen prey to drugs. Both Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal in particular have been taking refuge in the argument that this attack was motivated to blast the state government. After BJP backtracked from the drug issue after hammering it publicly, it is now Baba Ramdev who has expressed serious concern saying people have been approaching him to seek his intervention to save Punjab”, he added.

He said it was all the more serious that this comment had been made Baba Ramdev and that too in the presence of Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar as BJP was in alliance with the Akali Dal.

He also took note of the public outcry of Akali Dal’s Rajya Sabha member Naresh Gujral that no meeting of the NDA had been held after the formation of the Narendra Modi government. Modi was clearly ignoring the NDA partners as the BJP was in majority at its own and he had understood the vested interest of the Akali Dal which would not protest.

Manpreet said it had now become clear going by the statements of the BJP leaders that Union Food processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal never protested against amendment to the land acquisition act when it was discussed in the cabinet. He said it was perhaps for this reason that the Akali Dal, after taking a public stand against the proposed amendments, succumbed to the pressure from her and extended full support in the Lok Sabha. It was not the welfare of the people and Punjab on the agenda of the Akali Dal leadership but only sel