Rajya Sabha MPs raise concern over ‘alarming’ drug menace in Punjab
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BJP echoes SAD, but Sidhu says drugs ferried in red-beacon cars
PTI, New Delhi |Updated: Aug 03, 2016 16:23 IST
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BJP echoes SAD, but Sidhu says drugs ferried in red-beacon cars
Navjot Singh Sidhu, cricketer-turned-politician’s wife and chief parliamentary secretary (CPS) Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu on Friday declared he won’t attend meetings of the panel till the party remains in alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).
“Shukar karo main aa gyi! Hun BJP de palle ki bacheya hai Punjab vich? (It’s enough that I have come! What’s left of the BJP in Punjab now?),” she remarked on the sidelines of a BJP state executive meet in Jalandhar. “He (Sidhu) will not be part of any meeting or programme at which Punjab is discussed in alliance with the Akali Dal,” said Dr Sidhu, who is the BJP MLA from Amritsar-East.
On the issue of the state’s drug menace too, she dropped a bombshell, saying that illicit drugs in Punjab were being “ferried in red-beacon (official) vehicles”. This is in contrast to the BJP’s solidarity with the Akali argument, that the issue was a ploy to defame Punjab.
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BJP echoes SAD, but Sidhu says drugs ferried in red-beacon cars
But the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s MLA and chief parliamentary secretary Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu sang a different tune: “The problem of drugs is so severe in Punjab that some leaders are using their official, red-beacon vehicles to supply drugs. These red beacons have been allotted by deputy CM Sukhbir Badal to every Tom, Dick and Harry.”
Talking to reporters on the sidelines the party’s two-day state executive meeting that began on Friday, she even countered Sukhbir’s statements blaming the Border Security Force (BSF). “If the BSF is responsible for porous borders, Sukhbir must explain who is acting as supplier to bring the drugs from border areas to other parts of the state. It’s the police and politicians only.”
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Sidhu said: “Some politicians in Punjab are making huge money from the drug business... We all get salaries as elected representatives. But some of us have become owners of Rs 100-200 crore in a very short span. Nobody is probing from where this money has come from.”
She claimed she had asked CM (Parkash Singh) Badal to order quarterly income examination for politicians and police officers; “but he has not done anything”.
“If the BSF is responsible for porous borders, Sukhbir must explain who is acting as supplier to bring the drugs from border areas to other parts of the state. It’s the police and politicians only,” Sidhu said
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The problem of drug menace in Punjab came under the scanner of Rajya Sabha on Wednesday with members raising questions over the “alarming” number of cases and Congress demanding CBI probe into allegations against ministers of the ruling SAD-BJP combine in the state.
The government said it was taking steps to eradicate the menace, adding that mere taking of names is no basis for lodging prosecution.
During question hour, nominated member KTS Tulsi raised the issue saying the number of drug-related cases being reported from Punjab was disproportionately high and out of the 15 top districts on this count, 13 belonged to Punjab.
Read: Punjab indeed has a drug problem, worse than India, world
Tulsi said nearly 40 cases were being reported from the state every day, which was nearly half of the reported cases in the entire country, and sought to know what serious steps the Centre was taking to check the “alarming situation”.
Minister of state for home affairs Kiren Rijiju said the government was not taking the situation seriously. He said youth giving in to drugs anywhere in the country should be a matter of concern.
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State govt involvement
However, Tulsi said, “It is widely believed that a minister in the state government is involved in drug smuggling.” Raising questions, he said the traffickers were not being targetted and added it appeared the Centre too was complicit in protecting the state.
Read: BJP echoes SAD, but Sidhu says drugs ferried in red-beacon cars
Rijiju responded by saying that an eminent lawyer like Tulsi would know that “merely taking a name” is not sufficient to launch prosecution against someone.
Read: After health minister, now CM Badal downplays drug issue in Punjab
Bajwa demands CBI probe
Congress leader Pratap Singh Bajwa said a former national champion Jagdish Singh Bhola , who was arrested on drug trafficking charges, has made shocking allegations against three ministers of the Prakash Singh Badal led government and named one of them as the “kingpin”. Demanding a CBI enquiry into the accusations, Bajwa said only a probe could bring the truth to light.
Rijiju said it would be unfortunate if a demand for probe was carried out based on a name taken for merely political reasons.
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