Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], September 22 (ANI): Amid the political standoff between AAP and BJP over the "drug menace" in Punjab ahead of Assembly polls, the state's Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Monday alleged that drugs were entering the country through the Gujarat border with the involvement of the Bharatiya Janata Party, even as he claimed the drug menace in Punjab was "almost finished" under the AAP government.
"The whole country knows that today, drugs across the country are coming through the Gujarat border, and the entire Bharatiya Janata Party is involved in it and is drowning the youth of the entire country in drugs. First, they drown them in drugs, and then they do a drama that they will end drugs," Cheema told ANI.
Cheema added, "The whole of Punjab knows that from 2007 to 2017, the Akali Dal and BJP government was in Punjab; during that time, Punjab was heavily drowned in drugs. Today, those who spread drugs are saying that they will end drugs. On the other hand, there is the Punjab CM, who has been working continuously for the last four years to end drugs in the state. Today, the drug menace in Punjab is almost finished."
AAP MP Sanjay Singh has also alleged that the BJP, Congress and Akali Dal were conspiring to discredit Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's anti-drug campaign.
"A deep conspiracy is being hatched by the BJP, Congress, and Akali Dal to discredit the anti-drug campaign being run by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's AAP government... The AAP government is conducting this campaign against drugs with commitment. I am aware of the regimes of the Akali Dal, BJP, and Congress; drug mafias had connections with people in the BJP," Singh had said.
The AAP's counter-offensive comes amid mounting criticism of the state government from the BJP over the drug situation in Punjab. Cheema himself has been targeted by Congress over the death of Gulzar Singh, a Dalit labourer from Sangrur, who died by alleged suicide after allegedly facing harassment and casteist slurs by local representatives for questioning Cheema over the unchecked circulation of synthetic drugs after losing his own son to addiction.
Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had earlier said it was "painful to see Punjab heading towards ruin due to the menace of drugs."
"We must save Punjab from this drug menace. This state—which has the potential to be the best in the world—is being devastated by drugs, while the drug mafia and their associates enjoy government protection," Chouhan said.
BJP MP Tarun Chugh alleged that "chitta" was being openly sold across the state and that those who spoke out against the drug trade were being targeted, reacting to the case of Sangrur youth Jagga Singh, who consumed poison outside the Deputy Commissioner's office.
"In every street, every market, every neighbourhood, and every village, 'chitta' is being sold. 'Chitta' is being sold like lollipops. If anyone speaks up, they are tortured, beaten, harassed, and forced to commit suicide," Chugh said.
The BJP has also launched a statewide campaign on the issue, with party national president Nitin Nabin flagging off the "Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra" and criticising the state administration's handling of public safety and law enforcement. (ANI)
"Drugs entering country through Gujarat border, BJP involved": Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Cheema
