AAP, BJP lash out at Cong govt on drug menace issue

Opposition parties AAP and BJP today lashed out at Amarinder Singh-led government, alleging that its claim of breaking the back of "drug cartels" in the state was "bogus".
Both parties criticised the state government on the drug menace issue, referring to MLA Surjit Singh Dhiman's reported statement that 'chitta' (drugs) is "still available" as the drive against it "remained effective for only in the first 15 days of the government".
The statement of Dhiman at a function in Sunam has proved the accusations of AAP leaders that drug was still available in the state, AAP leader and Leader of Opposition Sukhpal Khaira said in a statement here.

The claim of state government that it had broken the back of drug cartels has turned out to be "bogus" with their own MLA's statement, he said.
Khaira claimed that Dhiman had stated it on record that the supply of drugs was interrupted for not more than 15 days after the formation of the Congress government.
It is an open secret that there is "rampant" availability of drug in Punjab that is "killing the youth of the state every day", he alleged.

The Leader of Opposition claimed that even Chief Minister Amarinder Singh himself had few days back said that the price of heroin which earlier was available at Rs 1,500 per gram has now gone up to Rs 5,000 per gram.

"But the chief minister refused to say anything about stopping the supply of drugs," Khaira said.
He demanded that the chief minister must disclose the names of drug traders whom he had claimed to have fled the state after formation of government.
Registering cases against petty drug consumers is not the solution, but there is a need to "tame the big players in the trade", Khaira said.
The Punjab BJP said the statement of the Congress MLA had "exposed" the claims of the state government on drug menace issue.
State BJP secretary Vineet Joshi said Amarinder's claims of ending the drug menace in Punjab had "fallen flat" with Dhiman's statement.

Joshi demanded that Amarinder ask Dhiman to name those who were involved in the sale of drugs.