Dr Gandhi sows poppy, may reap legal trouble

Police file DDR, seek legal opinion for action against Patiala MP, who says soft drugs are better than heroin

LUDHIANA/PATIALA: The Ludhiana rural police have filed a daily diary report (DDR) against Patiala MP Dr Dharamvira Gandhi for sowing poppy seeds in a filed after the recently held Chhapar Mela near Ludhiana.

Dr Gandhi has been strongly batting for legalising poppy cultivation in the state, saying that soft drugs are way better than heroin.

Deputy inspector general (DIG, Ludhiana range) RS Khattra said sowing poppy seeds is a crime under Sections 18 and 28 of the NDPS Act. The DIG said he has asked the Ludhiana rural senior superintendent of police (SSP) Varinder Singh Brar to file a report.

The police will take action after seeking legal opinion, he said.

Under Section 18 of the NDPS Act, a person cultivating poppy can face rigorous imprisonment for at least 10 years and a fine of ₹1 lakh which may extend to ₹2 lakh.

The DIG said the police have also asked the revenue department to share details of owner of the land where the MP sowed poppy seeds.

The police will summon the landowner for recording his statement to know if the MP has sown the poppy seeds with his consent or not, he said.

Reacting over the DDR, Dr Gandhi said the state government is free to take any action against him. “It was a symbolic protest and neither I nor farmers have done anything wrong,” the Patiala MP said.

Dr Gandhi said he has raised a valid demand. “I am ready to face any consequences. If government thinks that the issue is more important than farmer suicides, then it can go ahead, but I would not bow down,” he said.

“Farmers are committing suicide, drug addicts are dying, youth are unemployed and the water table continuously falling, but the Punjab government is oblivious to all this and is playing Nero’s flute” said Gandhi.

The MP also appreciated the stand taken by Punjab tourism and local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on legalising sale of opium and cultivation of poppy in the state.

At a function in Ludhiana on Sunday, which was also attended by state police chief Suresh Arora, Sidhu said: “I appreciate Gandhi for raising the demand. It is way better than ‘chitta’ (heroin), due to which parents have to see bodies of their children.”

The state government is free to take any action against me. It was a symbolic protest and neither I nor farmers have done anything wrong.

DR DHARAMVIRA GANDHI, suspended AAP MP