The Punjab Government on Thursday launched public policy conclave series to sensitise the intellectuals and masses regarding ‘perception and reality’ on drugs. The public conclave series, launched by Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal, would sensitise opinion makers about the results delivered by the State Government on this front as well as “unmasking the conspiracy of vested interests who want to make political capital by dubbing the State as bankrupt and Punjabis as drug addicts”.
Sukhbir also appealed to the political parties to rise above petty interests and stop denigrating the image of Punjab and Punjabis. “The idea of the conclave arose in my mind after multi-national companies, desirous of investing in the State, started querying about the extent of drug addiction in Punjab. I then realised that repeated wrong perceptions created by some ill-informed political leaders have been twisted by the media and Punjab is being projected as a State facing a serious crisis of drug addiction,” said Sukhbir.
Sukhbir, taking offence to the statement of Rahul Gandhi dubbing 70 percent youth of Punjab as drug addicts, said that the study quoted by the Congress leader referred to 70 per cent of youth being drug addicts out of a 1,000 drug addicts taken up as part of the study. “By wrongly quoting this study, Rahul Gandhi had denigrated the martial race of Punjabis, and they would never forgive him. Time has come that public should confront all these leaders, who are projecting Punjabis as addicts and damaging the image of the State throughout the world,” he said.
Reiterating ‘zero tolerance’ against drug trafficking, he made it clear that nobody, at whatsoever position, if found involved in drug trade would not be spared. Sukhbir said that Punjab, being the border State, had to suffer because it was being used as a transit route. “We will however take this fight to its logical conclusion to save the youth of our country. We have decided to fight the nation’s war and no amount of politicisation on this issue will weaken our resolve,” he said.
Exhorting the people to join in this collective war against drugs, he said that any complainant giving credible information about drug pushers at ‘181’ helpline would be awarded Rs10,000 and his identity would remain anonymous.