[1]JALANDHAR: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi today said his party can end the drug problem in Punjab in one month if it is voted to power in the elections next year, accusing the ruling BJP-Akali Dal alliance of fostering the illegal trade in the state.
Leading a rally in Jalandhar, Mr Gandhi said, “The government here encourages the drug trade because it benefits them. We can solve the problem in one month if we are voted to power. All you need to do is free the hands of the police. Only the Congress can do it.”
Also taking a dig at the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said, “Modi ji speaks of ease of doing business. The only business which is easy to do in Punjab is that of drugs.”
The Congress leader once again attacked government at the Centre and the state over the censor board’s moves against the film Udta Punjab which focuses on substance abuse, noting that the state has a “crippling drug problem” and censoring the movie would not fix it.
Congress has said that BJP is a coalition partner of Akali Dal and is “equally culpable” for the “inaction” of the Punjab government on the drug menace.Senior leaders of the state including Captain Amarinder Singh, the Chief Ministerial candidate of the Congress in Punjab, were present at the rally today.
The protest from the Congress however drew derision from its opponents. AAP leader Bhagwant Mann said that Mr Gandhi has no moral right to stage a protest against the drug issue in Punjab as he and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had earlier failed to take action to resolve the problem.
“Manmohan Singh maintained a stony silence despite (Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi) Quraishi informing him of the enormity of the drug menace in Punjab during the 2012 assembly polls, while Amarinder (Singh) chose to side with SAD minister Bikram Singh Majithia by opposing a CBI probe,” the AAP MP from Sangrur said yesterday.
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