Arun Jaitley rakes up Punjab drug mess for Akali Dal

Already under fire from the Congress for alleged links of some of its top leaders with the drug mafia, the ruling Akali Dal in Punjab seems headed for more trouble on the issue.

Arun Jaitley, the Amritsar Lok Sabha candidate of the BJP, an ally of the Akali Dal, said on Tuesday that drug abuse was a reality in the state, unwittingly giving more ammunition to the Congress against the Akalis.

BJP leader Arun Jaitley

Congress' Captain Amarinder Singh, Jaitley's opponent in Amritsar, has been criticising Akali Dal leaders, including state Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia, on the drug problem for quite some time. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Sukhbir and Majithia, whose name also figured in the synthetic drug racket, have mostly avoided speaking on the issue.

Jaitley, however, told mediapersons on Tuesday that Punjab was facing the drug problem and even synthetic drugs were being prepared in the state. He held the Congress-led UPA government responsible for the malady, though. " It is a reality that drug issue exists in the state. There are two reasons (for the problem): One is absence of vigil at the border, which is purely a Central issue. The other is unemployment among youth," said the BJP leader, with Majithia by his side.

On the seizure of synthetic drugs in the recent past, Jaitley said, " Yes, it (synthetic drugs) is being manufactured in Punjab." Jaitley's statement, acknowledging the drug problem in the state and holding unemployment as one of the reasons for it, has put the Badals and Majithia, the brotherin-law of Sukhbir Singh Badal, in a bind. Incidentally, Majithia is one of the key politicians managing Jaitley's poll campaign.

Majithia, though, tried to correct Jaitley pointing out that the synthetic drugs were not seized in Punjab, but the damage was done.

"You need to get your facts right. There was no synthetic drugs recovery from Punjab.

Recoveries were made from Himachal Pradesh, Hyderabad, Maharashtra and Delhi. All of these were Congress-ruled states.

Punjab Police busted the racket and did a good job," said Majithia.

"Today, Amarinder Singh is talking about all this. At that time, even he had appreciated the effort of the Punjab Police. I think he has forgotten this after coming to Amritsar." In a recent Punjab government survey, about 70 per cent youth were found to be drug addicts.

A day before Jaitley's remarks, Amarinder had attacked the Badals and their party, advising them not to indulge in ' drug trafficking for greed'. " Your greed is understandable, but don't indulge in drug trafficking. I understand your greed for robbing the state by grabbing the mining, liquor, transport or cable trade but at least spare our youth and don't indulge in drug trade and trafficking," the former chief minister had said while addressing a public meeting in Amritsar.

He said the entire young generation of Punjab was being ruined by the menace of drugs.