Welcome move on drugs : The Tribune India

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Welcome move on drugs

Prime Minister Modi’s spirited talk on the drug menace on the radio on Sunday has found an echo in Punjab. What Modi said in his third “Mann Ki Baat” interaction was touching. Drug addiction, he said, was a “national pain”.



Prime Minister Modi’s spirited talk on the drug menace on the radio on Sunday has found an echo in Punjab. What Modi said in his third “Mann Ki Baat” interaction was touching. Drug addiction, he said, was a “national pain”. He put the drug-terror nexus very poignantly: “Have you thought that the money you spend on drugs might be going to terrorists who buy bullets to kill our soldiers?” He did not, however, point to the political and police patronage extended to drug smugglers. Congress leaders in Punjab were quick to react to Modi’s speech. Capt Amarinder Singh wanted some concrete action, not just homilies. Partap Singh Bajwa put the onus of meeting the challenge on the Punjab government, which has been accused of shielding Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia. The Enforcement Directorate is yet to question Majithia after he was reportedly named by some arrested drug smugglers.

The drug menace, however, is too serious an issue to play politics with. Punjab is a transit hub as well as a destination of narcotics coming from Afghanistan for international markets. There are also chemists in every city, town and village selling prohibited drugs over the counter. Chief Minister Badal used to blame the Centre for the spread of the menace. Will he now repeat the allegation and will Modi also take part of the responsibility? For long the Punjab government ignored the threat. When Rahul Gandhi said seven of 10 Punjabi youth had a drug problem, it provoked a sharp denial from the Deputy Chief Minister. After the recent arrests, the drug racket has brought the role of politicians under the scanner. While the concerned Punjabis in general and the parents of drug addicts in particular must have welcomed the Prime Minister taking up the cause, there was disappointment that he did not propose anything beyond a helpline. In fact, Modi has put the responsibility on parents to bring up their children better by taking more time out of their busy schedule for them.

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