Congress Deputy leader in the lok Sabha Capt Amarinder Singh on Friday expressed dismay over the Narendra Modi Government’s “lack of sincerity” in tackling the “serious issue” of drug abuse in the country.
The Congress leader said that he had written to the Prime Minister on June 30 drawing his attention towards drug addiction problem that is afflicting the youth in most parts of the country and his home State in particular.
Capt Amarinder’s statement came on the day the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced Rs 50 crore for setting up of drug de-addiction centres in Punjab during his reply to the debate on budget proposals he presented in the House on July 10. Jaitley had unsuccessfully contested his first ever lok Sabha elections from Amritsar against Capt Amarinder.
Punjab’s former Chief Minister, in a statement issued, said that he had urged the Prime Minister to initiate measures for formulating a National Drug Policy as the problem of drug peddling and smuggling is inter-state, and it is beyond the scope of an individual state to tackle it.
Capt Amarinder, however, said that he was “dismayed and disappointed” over the Modi’s cold response who merely acknowledged the receipt of the letter without making any mention whether his government was taking any note of it and pursuing any follow up action. He said that Modi’s letter merely said: “I have received your letter of June 30 regarding the problem of drug addiction in Punjab.”