BJP claims Oppn overplaying drug problem, Navjot differs

Rachna Khaira

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, July 1

Punjab BJP affairs incharge Prabhat Jha said here today that the Opposition was overplaying the state’s drug problem for political gains, even as the party’s Chief Parliamentary Secretary Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu lashed out at the ruling alliance for taking the issue lightly.

On the opening day of the party’s two-day state executive meeting, Jha said the drug menace was more alarming in other states.

Taking a contrary line, Dr Sidhu said the drug trade was being run openly in the state under the patronage of the ‘red beacon’ (powers that be), adding that the police had failed to curb it due to their political affiliations.

“Why does no one dare to stop and check the private buses carrying drug consignments across the state?” asked Dr Sidhu while speaking to The Tribune.

She slammed Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal for portraying Punjab as a vulnerable state as it shared its border with Pakistan. “There are many other states bordering Pakistan. Why is this problem not rampant there?” the CPS asked.

She said the names of Akali leaders had surfaced in various drug rackets, but none had been arrested so far.

When asked about Cabinet Minister Bikram Singh Majithia’s alleged link with the drug trade, Jha said none of the investigative agencies had found him guilty.

Meanwhile, presenting a resolution draft pertaining to the 2017 assembly elections, senior BJP leader Manoranjan Kalia demanded that the Centre impose a ban on the manufacture of pseudoephedrine salt which was being used to manufacture synthetic drugs in the region. The resolution was passed by the state executive.