In first post-Haryana poll event, BJP leaders highlight drug menace in Punjab

KARTARPUR (Jalandhar): At the first big function where top SAD and BJP leaders shared the stage for first time after the bitterness created during the poll campaign in Haryana, three senior BJP leaders raised the issue of narco- terrorism in Punjab in presence of chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal, who also holds charge of home department.
On the occasion of foundation stone laying of Jang-E-Azadi memorial, Punjab BJP president Kamal Sharma, after quoting verses from Jangnama of Shah Mohammad -- an important poetical document about the Anglo-Sikh war -- to emphasize the valour of Sikh warriors, pointed out that the young generation of Punjab was falling prey to narcotics. The state faced the challenge of narco-terrorism and it needed to flushed it out at the earliest to save the state, he said.
Speaking after him, senior BJP leader and Punjab affairs incharge Shanta Kumar also said that Punjab now appeared to be kneeling before narcotics. "It is a very sad state of affairs that the state, which was once known for valour and sacrifices, was now getting the dubious distinction for prevalence of drugs," he said.
Chhatisgarh governor Balramji Dass Tandon also mentioned this point. However, all the three appreciated the initiative of the state government to raise a memorial in memory of freedom fighters of Punjab.
CM Parkash Singh Badal and deputy CM Sukhbir Badal focucsed on highlighting the sacrifices by great freedom fighters. Badal also said that his government focused on raising memorials for great events and urged people to make the state number one.
Though state government had made elaborate arrangements, no BJP minister or MLA from outside the district participated in the function, though all senior SAD leaders were present. On a stage big enough to accommodate a few hundred leaders of both parties, only Akali leaders or a few others were present. No BJP leader was visible among them, barring the local BJP MLA.