New Delhi: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi today promised to end the drug problem in Punjab within a month if his party is voted to power in assembly elections next year.
While speaking at a protest rally in Jalandhar, Rahul said that Punjab can get a better future only if the menace of drug is ended in the state.
“There are good police officers in Punjab police who want to work but Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) government is not giving them the required freedom to function,” Rahul said at the rally which was attended by Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh and other senior leaders of the state.
Rahul also made a reference to the controversy involving Bollywood film ‘Udta Punjab’ which has run into trouble after censor board suggested 89 cuts including all reference to Punjab. Two days ago, the Congress vice president had thrown his weight behind the release of the film Udta Punjab which focuses on substance abuse, noting that the state has a "crippling drug problem" and censoring the movie would not fix it.
Saying that he was the one who raised the issue drug problem back in 2012, Rahul said that SAD leaders mocked him when he urged the government to address the problem four years ago.
Congress has said that BJP is a coalition partner of Akali Dal and is "equally culpable" for the "inaction" of the Punjab government on the drug menace.
AAP leader Bhagwant Mann however has said that Mr Gandhi has no moral right to stage a protest against the drug issue in Punjab as he and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had earlier failed to take action to resolve the problem.
"Manmohan Singh maintained a stony silence despite Quraishi (Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi) informing him of the enormity of the drug menace in Punjab during the 2012 assembly polls, while Amarinder (Singh) chose to side with SAD minister Bikram Singh Majithia by opposing a CBI probe," the AAP MP from Sangrur said yesterday.
Assembly polls in Punjab are scheduled next year.
