Chandigarh, Sep 30 (PTI) Senior Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa took on the BJP-led Centre and the AAP government in Punjab on Wednesday over the drug menace in the state, saying both must answer for their respective responsibilities in tackling the narcotics supply chain.
The leader of opposition in the state Assembly also said Punjab’s drug crisis cannot be solved through political yatras, rallies and slogans.
Reacting to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to Jalandhar on the culmination of the BJP’s 13-day “Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra”, the Congress leader asked the Union government to explain what measurable impact the expansion of the Border Security Force’s (BSF) operational jurisdiction from 15 km to 50 km has had since 2021.
“The Centre expanded the BSF’s jurisdiction to 50 km, citing the need for stronger border security. Punjab has since witnessed continued reports of cross-border drug smuggling, including the use of drones. What has the Centre achieved with this additional jurisdiction? How many major trafficking networks have actually been dismantled?” he asked.
Bajwa said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) must also answer for the larger Punjab-Pakistan border security challenge.
“How many drones carrying narcotics and weapons have been intercepted? How many cross-border handlers, financiers and networks have been identified and prosecuted? If the border is the first line of defence against narcotics entering Punjab, the Union government must accept responsibility for securing that first line of defence,” he said.
Bajwa added that the Centre must explain what concrete action has been taken against trafficking networks operating through other states, ports and financial channels.
“Punjab cannot be treated merely as the destination of a supply chain whose origins and financial networks extend far beyond the state,” he said.
The Congress leader also raised the serious issue of gangsters operating criminal networks from prisons outside Punjab.
“Gangsters lodged in jails in BJP-ruled states cannot be allowed to threaten, extort and terrorise Punjabis through networks operating outside prison. The Centre and the state governments concerned must explain what action is being taken to stop this,” he said.
At the same time, Bajwa said the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab cannot escape responsibility by blaming the Centre.
Policing, local intelligence, action against peddlers, rehabilitation and protection of vulnerable communities remain crucial responsibilities of the Punjab government, he said.
“The BJP cannot wash its hands of the drug crisis by blaming the AAP and the AAP cannot escape its responsibility by blaming the Centre. Punjab needs results, not rallies and slogans.
“Amit Shah and (Chief Minister) Bhagwant Mann must answer: who is bringing the drugs, who is financing them, who is protecting the networks and why has the entire supply chain still not been dismantled?” Bajwa asked. PTI CHS RC
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