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Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday expressed concern over the drug menace in Punjab, alleging that the state was being devastated by drugs and that the drug mafia and its associates were enjoying government protection.
Speaking to ANI during his Punjab visit, Chouhan said, It is painful to see Punjab heading towards ruin due to the menace of drugs... We must save Punjab from this drug menace. This statewhich has the potential to be the best in the worldis being devastated by drugs, while the drug mafia and their associates enjoy government protection. Citing his experience as the former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Chouhan said strong political will was needed to tackle the drug menace and maintain law and order. I speak from experiencehaving served as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh four timesthat if the Chief Minister is truly determined, neither will law and order deteriorate nor will the drug mafia be allowed to operate; what is needed is the government's willpower, he said. Chouhan said the ongoing campaign was aimed at creating awareness among people and building a drug-free Punjab. Today, we are undertaking journeys to awaken Punjabto create a Nasha Mukt Punjab. We must free the state from this scourge at all costs, he said. Earlier in the day, Chouhan launched the Bharatiya Janata Partys Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra in Talwandi Sabo and accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of failing to curb the drug menace in the state. Addressing a public gathering after paying obeisance at Takht Sri Damdama Sahib, Chouhan said that instead of the development model promised by AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, Punjab had witnessed what he described as the MOD model or Model of Drug Development." Kejriwal promised a development model, but Punjab got MODModel of Drug Development, Chouhan said. The Union Minister said his interaction with families affected by drug abuse had left him deeply concerned. He said several families had lost their sons to drugs, while many women had lost their children and husbands. Chouhan said he met women whose sons had died at young ages due to drug abuse. One woman lost her 18-year-old son, another her 21-year-old son and another her 27-year-old son. There was also a woman whose husband died at the age of 31, he said. During his visit, Chouhan also visited the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) in Bathinda, where he interacted with farmers and women members of Self-Help Groups. The campaign comes closely following the tragic death of Gulzar Singh, a Dalit labourer from Sangrur who died by suicide after allegedly facing harassment and casteist slurs for publicly questioning a state minister over the unrestricted circulation of synthetic drugs (chitta) after losing his own son to addiction. (ANI)
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