Punjab Facing Major Drug Problem: Rahul Gandhi
Drug addiction among youth is the result of increasing unemployment in the country. Delhi, for example, is the new evil centre of drug addicts.
By Rakesh Raman
Although drug addiction is quite common among youth in all parts of India, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi has focused his attention on Punjab, which will witness state election next year.
“Drugs have been a very serious problem in Punjab. The Akalis made fun of me the last time I came here and said that, but it is the truth. Raising the issue of drugs is not against Punjab. Saying that the Akalis are not taking action against drugs is not against Punjab,” Rahul Gandhi said Wednesday at a public gathering in Mohali.
Drug addiction among youth is the result of increasing unemployment in the country. Delhi, for example, is the new evil centre of drug addicts. As the quality of education in Delhi schools and colleges is going from bad to worse, most students either do not complete their education or fail to get job even after taking academic degrees.
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In order to combat their depression, they become drug addicts. And they also commit various crimes such as thefts to buy illegal drugs which temporarily help them forget their mental pains. While Delhi is full of such drug addicts, the Delhi government headed by chief minister (CM) Arvind Kejriwal has failed to check this menace.
Way back in 2012 Rahul Gandhi had stated that there was a major drug problem amongst the youth of Punjab, and he attempted to bring it to the attention of the ruling BJP-SAD government in the state.
“But, the ruling dispensation, whose own Ministers are involved with drug cartels, ignored the warning. The SAD-BJP government chose to bury its head in the sand,” said the Congress leader.
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As recently as February 2016, according to Congress, the Deputy CM of Punjab, Sukhbir Badal, misquoted a study to say that only 16,000 people are drug users in the state.
But a closer look at the AIIMS-sponsored study shows that in fact there are “2.32 lakh drug dependent” adults in Punjab, says Congress.
“This is only for adult males and those who are addicts. If we include drug users and abusers, then that number almost crosses 10 lakh, and this doesn’t even include juvenile drug use or women, or people who use synthetic drugs and marijuana,” according to Congress, which is a major party in the upcoming 117-member Assembly election.
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“The latest manifestation of the Badal government’s and BJP’s denial of the drug menace in Punjab is the banning the film ‘Udta Punjab,’ where 89 cuts were suggested by the Censor Board and that the name Punjab be dropped from the title,” Congress said.
By denying that the problem exists, the BJP-SAD government is doing a grave disservice to the people of Punjab. Addiction is so much more than a mere social evil, but an actual medical condition which needs an empathetic state government and an action plan. After having ruined the economy of Punjab, the government, it appears, is hell bent on ruining the lives of tens of lakhs of people and their families, Congress said.
By Rakesh Raman, the managing editor of RMN Company
Photo courtesy: Congress
