Will move MP court for poppy husk ban: Dy CM

Tribune News Service

Talwandi Sabo, July 17

To give a befitting reply to the anti-drugs campaign launched by the BJP in Punjab, the Punjab Government will soon knock on the doors of the Madhya Pradesh High Court to impose a ban on the cultivation of poppy husk in Madhya Pradesh.

Stating that a public interest litigation (PIL) in the MP High Court would be filed soon, deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal today said that there should be no double laws over the cultivation of poppy husk.

“While there is a provision of 10 years imprisonment in Punjab for even carrying poppy husk, states like MP and Rajasthan continue to cultivate drugs and sell the same,” Sukhbir said.

He said that Punjab strongly advocates imposing a ban on the sale of poppy husk in Rajasthan and MP.

Sukhbir announced this after inaugurating the Akal University in Talwandi Sabo which has been set up by the Kalgidhar Trust.

The deputy CM not only expressed displeasure but also termed the non-implementation of the ban on poppy husk in Rajasthan by the high court there as unacceptable.

Appreciating the move initiated by Chandigarh-based NGO ArriveSAFE to get a ban imposed in Rajasthan on poppy husk, Sukhbir not only announced the filing of a similar PIL in MP but also providing help in the implementation of the ban in Rajasthan.

NGO president Harman Singh Sidhu had filed a PIL following which the Rajasthan High Court imposed a ban on the sale of poppy husk in Rajasthan.

Sukhbir said that it was clear that the Rajasthan Government was dragging its feet on imposing a complete ban on the sale of poppy husk which is affecting the youth of Punjab.

In the July 15 reply of the Rajasthan Government in the high court, it has been stated that poppy husk is a waste product of opium and was not harmful for human consumption.