Rahul Gandhi To Lead Protest Against Drugs Issue In Punjab

Jalandhar: On Monday, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi will lead a protest in Punjab’s Jalandhar highlighting drug abuse and the “collapse” of law and order in the state in hopes of building up a strong plank against the ruling BJP-Akali Dal alliance ahead of elections next year.

All senior party leaders and workers from the state will also take part in the protest, Congress legislator Rana Gurjeet Singh said. “Eradication of drug misuse from Punjab is the top priority of Congress,” he added. 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. 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.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Bhagwant Mann however has said that 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 (Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi) 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.