Chandigarh, April 11
Former Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab and Member of Parliament from Gurdaspur, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, questioned Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s claims of arresting over 90,000 drug traffickers under the ‘War Against Drugs’ campaign. He said that the Aam Aadmi Party has been praising itself through advertisements, but if so many traffickers have indeed been caught, why has the number of deaths due to drugs in Punjab not decreased? Why are entire families being destroyed due to drug abuse? He added that the government should refrain from self-praise on such sensitive issues. Punjab now needs results, not statistics, as the government has already spent four years playing with numbers.
Randhawa further stated that the government must clarify how many of those arrested are actual traffickers and how many are drug users. The truth, he claimed, is that many of those arrested are themselves victims of addiction. He urged the government to avoid such publicity-driven claims, as they defame Punjab nationally. Instead, the government should focus on rehabilitation and treatment of drug victims so they can be reintegrated into mainstream society.
Taking a dig at Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Randhawa demanded that the government disclose how many A-category traffickers have been arrested and release their names. He also asked how much narcotics have been recovered from them. He alleged that leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party are themselves involved in major drug trafficking cases, claiming that two leaders were caught with heroin worth crores of rupees. He further alleged that there are serious accusations against the government of issuing passports to drug traffickers and helping them flee abroad.
Randhawa stated that the Congress party has always fought against drug trafficking and will continue to do so. However, it will not allow Punjab to be defamed over the drug issue. He emphasized the need to expose the alleged manipulation of statistics. Expressing concern, he said that despite government claims, the number of drug-related deaths in Punjab has not decreased. Incidents like five members of a single family dying and 20 youths from one locality falling victim to drugs expose the hollowness of the government’s claims. He urged the government to take action at the ground level, target the real traffickers, and break the drug supply chain.
