Punjab deputy CM slams Rahul for drug abuse remark
October 12, 2012 18:54 IST
Reacting sharply to the statement of Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi that seven out of 10 youth in Punjab are drug addicts, Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab Sukbir Badal termed him a joker' on Friday.
Rahul was addressing a public rally during his day-long visit to the state on Sunday.
"I would like to know on what basis he arrived at this mathematical equation. Did he get the information from some authentic source? We certainly did not provide him with any information," the junior Badal told rediff.com.
Principal Secretary in the Badal government T R Sarangal, who is in-charge of social welfare, that if there were 10 people working in his office and they are young he would not know which ones are drug addicts and which one's were not.
Though he admitted that drug abuse was a menace in the bordering areas of Amaritsar, Taran Taaran and Ferozpur that includes Moga.
"But drugs are a bigger problem in Manipur. Is Mumbai not suffering from drug addiction? Drug peddling is prevalent there as well. So why blame only the youth in Punjab," he retorted.
Punjab is part of the 'golden triangle' that is used for drug trafficking from Afghanistan and that passes through India.
According to the sources, the state government spends just Rs 2 crore on de-addiction and so, its little surprise that use of drugs in youth is going up gradually.
Onkar Singh in New Delhi
