Claiming that Punjab was bearing the brunt of its war against drugs, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Saturday said that the State was being maligned irrespective of the fact that not even a single ounce of drug was produced in it.A day earlier, speaking in Hoshiarpur along with Badal, Union Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot had said Punjab ranked number one in consumption of drugs, leaving the Chief Minister red faced.On International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, Gehlot, said that his department had conducted different surveys from time to time. These have found that the percentage of drug addicts in Punjab is maximum in the country. North-eastern states Manipur, Mizoram and Meghalaya came next.
After Gehlot's statement, Badal said that the statement had no basis. A day after the showdown, Badal interacted with the mediapersons on the side lines of his thanks giving tour in Dhuri Assembly segment saying drugs like opium, heroin, smack and others were smuggled in the State from across the border whereas other narcotics like poppy husk were coming to Punjab from the States like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and others where it was sold openly.
However, he said that ironically the state's image has been belittled just because Punjab was fighting the war against drugs from the forefront. “We have earlier suffered, as the state fought national war against militancy to protect unity and integrity of the country and now we are being victimized for waging a direct war against drug menace” added Badal.The Chief Minister said that the state security agencies have cracked down heavily on the drug peddlers by nabbing them thereby cutting the supply line of drugs. He said that even the properties of the drug peddlers have been confiscated to ensure that people involved in this heinous crime must get exemplary punishment.
Besides, Chief Minister said that a network of drug de-addiction and rehabilitation centers had been set up in the state to detoxify the drugs addicts on one hand and impart skill training to them on the other so that they could lead their life with dignity and pride.He said on its part the state government was doing its best to stamp out this curse from the State but the need of the hour was to intensify vigil on the borders for checking cross border smuggling. likewise, Badal said that efforts need to be made to ensure that no State allows free flow of drugs from its jurisdiction. “It's not only a State's or country's problem but it is a global phenomenon which can be tackled jointly”, he added.