A senior BJP leader in Punjab wanted the Centre to come to the State’s rescue to save it from the lethal clutches of the drug menace.
Party’s national vice-president and Punjab’s former cabinet minister, laxmi Kanta Chawla, on Monday wrote a letter to the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh urging him to “save Punjab from the drug menace”.
“Political leaders in Punjab may have issued different statements, but the reality is that youths are completely trapped in the drug menace and they need to be saved,” said Chawla in her letter.
“Rajnath ji, please save Punjab from drugs. Whoever forms the government, the state belongs to the people. We should keep it in our mind that we have to free Punjab from drugs,” she added.
The firebrand leader continued, “You are aware of the fact that several youths have died of drugs, many families have been destroyed due to it. Even the government cannot reveal the exact numbers. Several innocents are in jails due to this menace.”
Chawla has been the state’s health and social security minister during 2007-2012. Fed up with the state politics, she bid adieu to the active politics in 2012 by not contesting the state assembly polls to retain her seat — Amritsar Central.
Known for her divergent thinking, Chawla go that extra mile for public good, giving ‘out of the box’ ideas. During her stint as cabinet minister in the previous Badal government, Chawla was apparently little hard to handle, not only for the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, his cabinet colleagues, his co-party members, but also for the employees. Thanks to her “rebellious attitude”.
She was inducted in the national team after Rajnath Singh take over the party reins in 2013.