At a time when the BJP is pointing at the alarming proportion the drug menace has reached, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president and Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal on Wednesday claimed that there was not any rift between the coalition partners over the drug issue. “There is no such possibility and the alliance is unflinching,” said Sukhbir, while interacting with the media on the sidelines of a function in Faridkot. Sukhbir said that all the decisions were taken with the due consultation between both the partners.
The bitterness in the relationship between the two alliance partners were evident during the recent State-level function on the International Dal against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, which was attended by BJP’s Union Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot. Addressing a joint Press conference, Gehlot had stated that Punjab was ranked number one in the country in consumption of drugs as per different surveys. Intervening, Badal had wasted no time to condemned Gehlot’s statement by terming the surveys as “redundant”.“The surveys mentioned by Gehlot are old and were done five to six years ago. Everybody is targeting Punjab but nobody understands the real problem. Nobody is bothered from where the drugs are flowing into Punjab.
They are coming from outside states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh,” Badal has stated. Also, the BJP’s State unit had organised rallies, marathons, and campaigns on June 26 across the State.In fact, it had also targeted the SAD for the alleged involvement of its leaders in the multi-crore drug case, and even demanded the resignation of its Minister Bikram Singh Majithia and Chief Parliamentary Secretary Avinash Chander. The Deputy Chief Minister, talking about the drug menace in the State, said the State Government was taking all steps to eliminate this menace with the cooperation of citizens. He asked the people of Punjab to come forward against this social evil.