Bathinda voters were lured by drugs, alleges Manpreet
CHALLENGE Says CM misleading people on drug problem in state
GURDASPUR: Accusing Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal of misleading people on the problem of drug abuse in the state, People’s Party of Punjab (PPP) president Manpreet Singh Badal has challenged him to say on oath in Harmandar Sahib that he didn’t distribute heroin and smack in the Bathinda parliamentary seat campaign of his daughter-in-law Harsimrat Kaur Badal.
Manpreet was addressing a press conference on Sunday here at the house of Congress leader Raman Bahl, who had come under attack from the land mafia recently. The PPP leader said the CM had blamed Pakistan falsely for the inflow of drugs into Punjab, as other border states such as Gujarat, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir had never blamed the neighbouring country.
“All the drugs consumed in Punjab are being produced and distributed locally under the patronisation of the ruling party,” Manpreet alleged.
“I dare Badal to say on oath in Harmandar Sahib that he didn’t distribute heroin and smack during the election campaign of his daughter-in-law,” the Peoples Party of Punjab chief said.
“The Punjab government had ended terrorism when it was determined. It is a matter of less than an hour for the Punjab government to control drug menace if it has the will,” the leader added. Replying to a query, he said the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Bharatiya Janata Party, who had different ideologies, had “formed a ruling political alliance to loot the people of Punjab and share the booty”.
‘NO ONE JOBLESS IN BADAL FAMILY’
Manpreet said issues such as shifting of certain militants to Punjab jails were created to divert people’s attention from issues of unemployment, poverty and illiteracy. “Badal is not interested in solving real problems, since no one in his family is unemployed. He himself is CM his son is deputy CM, his daughter-in-law is Union minister, and his son-in-law and son’s brother-in-law are state cabinet ministers,” he said.
Later, he visited the disputed site, where he addressed the plot owners, assuring them his party’s full support until justice is delivered. When the plot owners accused local SAD legislator Gurbachan Babbehali of patronising the land mafia, he asked them to tell Babbehali that people did not light even a lamp at the grave of men who when in power perpetrated atrocities on them.