Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Chandigarh, With the Punjab Chief Minister Mr Parkash Singh Badal and the Deputy Chief Minister Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal directly blaming the centre and the BJP run states for drug smuggling in this border state, the Congress President Mr Partap Singh Bajwa today called upon the Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi to clarify the situation to end this confusion.
“The Chief Minister has written a letter to the Union Home Minister Mr Rajnath Singh urging him to take appropriate steps to tighten the vigil on the border to stop the smuggling of drugs from across the border while his Deputy Chief Minister son has demanded that the BJP ruled states like Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan should impose ban on poppy cultivation as these states were the source of smuggling of opium and poppy husk to Punjab. The alliance partners are blaming each other for the situation. It is for the Prime Minister to state the real position as entire information is with the central agencies”, he added.
The PPCC chief said it was now Mr Modi who had realised the gravity of situation in Punjab in his Man Ki Baat programme in which he had been frank enough to share his feel of the ground situation as conveyed to him by the hapless mothers whose sons had become addicts. Earlier, the anguish expressed by the Congress vice-president, Mr Rahul Gandhi, before the Lok Sabha election was construed to be the criticism of the Badal government. The Badal government went into counter-offensive mode. Now it was the Prime Minister had virtually reiterated what Mr Gandhi had stated earlier.
Mr Bajwa said both father and son were trying to pass the buck. The Chief Minister had virtually held the centre responsibility by alleging laxity by the Border Security Forces saying drugs were being smuggled via Samjhauta Express and the Delhi-Lahore bus. This amounted to blaming the centre directly for smuggling. He said the Deputy Chief Minister who was also the Home Minister had washed his hands off by attacking the BJP run states. It was a strange case of the alliance partners blaming each other for a situation which was affecting the future of this border state.
Under such a situation, it was the responsibility of the Prime Minister to clarify the ground situation and tell the people as to from where the drugs being used in this state emanated. He said as per the studies, the drugs prevalent in thus state were mainly synthetic, opium and poppy husk with a small number hooked to heroine. It was mainly heroine that was being smuggled from across the border. One of the main drug lords arrested by the police who had divulged the names of some Punjab ministers had been smuggling synthetic drugs and as per the information given out by the police, his drug racket had gone up to Rs 6000 crore, he added.
He said as Mr Badal had written to the Union Home Minister to tighten vigil on the border to check drug smuggling, now it was for Mr Modi to come out with the facts. It was no more an issue relating to internal wrangling between the two alliance partners. The people should not be allowed to suffer as the Prime Minister had himself made reference as to what was happening in Punjab, he added.
