Senior Aam Aadmi Party leader and Sangrur MP, Bhagwant Mann on Sunday slammed Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh for turning a deaf ear to the drug issue in the State.
Mann appealed to Capt. Amarinder if he does not listen to the issues raised by opposition party then he must at least listen to the issues raised by his own party MLAs.
In a press statement, Mann said that the issue of police and civil officers shielding liquor mafia raised by Zira MLA Kulbir Singh Zira is quite shocking and needs to be taken seriously. Mann said that before Zira another Congress MLA Surjeet Singh Dhiman had raised the issue of drugs being sold by influential people during Capt. Amarinder’s regime. He had accused the drugs mafia being operated on the tunes of previous Badal government in Punjab.
Mann said AAP has been raising the issue of drugs in the state but no action was taken against the drug mafia by State Government. He said, after the issue was raised again by Congress MLA Zira, now the Chief Minister must take the issue seriously and action must be taken against drug mafia and officers shielding them.
He said Capt. Amarinder must fulfill his promise of weeding out drug mafia from the state made before 2017 elections while holding Sri Gutka Sahib in his hand.
Mann said not four but even after 94 weeks of government formation, the state is still suffering from drug menace. He said the unemployed youth of state is unable to get out of the clutches of drug.
MLA Zira has testified that there is no difference of working between previous Badal and present government, Mann added.
A day before, the Congress MLA from Zira left his ruling party red-faced when he boycotted a district-level function, saying "no action" was taken against liquor contractors selling illicit alcohol in Ferozepur district.
The Congress had on Saturday organised a district-level function in Ferozepur to administer the oath to the newly-elected sarpanchs (village heads) and panchs. Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal was the main guest at the oath-taking ceremony.
Congress legislator Kulbir Singh Zira from Zira assembly seat even took a dig at the efforts of the Punjab government in making it a drug-free state, saying it could not be possible unless "black sheep" were roaming free.