Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Monday stressed for comprehensive war on drugs by all Punjabis rising above the political affiliations.
“Time has come for a comprehensive war on drugs by all Punjabis rising above political affiliations to fight a common enemy. This is not a time to play politics and SAD will not fall to the temptation to take political advantage out of the Government’s total failure to live up to its promise to tackle the drug menace in four weeks,” said the SAD president Sukhbir Badal.
He said that as a responsible political party committed to the goals and ideals laid down before us by the great Gurus, “the SAD is fully alive to its sacred responsibility to serve the people of Punjab constructively. We will discharge this responsibility most conscientiously to save our youth from the specter of drugs”.
Sukhbir said that SAD would offer full support and constructive cooperation to any efforts by the Government to weed out the drug menace from the State. “We appeal to all Punjabis to rise above political affiliations and come together on a single platform to fight a common enemy,” he said.
He said: “Our conduct is inspired by the ideals placed before us by the Great Guru Sahibaan who taught us to join hands whenever the society faces a serious challenge. It is time for all of us to realize that in the past, politicizing the issue had resulted only in making the menace more serious and sinister. If political parties play petty politics on such sensitive issues for electoral gains, they may win elections, but Punjab loses its soul.”
Maintaining that SAD cannot afford to play politics on the issue, Sukhbir made an appeal to the people of Punjab to “rise above petty egos or vested political stakes and unitedly and decisively confront and defeat this menace”.
Blaming “some political parties” for taking political mileage out of the drug issue, Sukhbir said that it was time to put the past behind us and move forward united in our common resolve to save Punjab’s youth.
“I would also appeal to the SGPC to launch a massive religious drive against the drug menace in the light of the teachings of the sacred Gurbani,” he said.