Congress accuses Puducherry govt. of complacency in tackling drug menace
Vaithilingam says suspects in the 9yearold girl’s murder are drug addicts; narcotic substances are easily available in the U.T.
Puducherry Pradesh Congress Committee chief V. Vaithilingam on Wednesday accused the AINRCled NDA government of “complacency” and said the lack of preventive measures to combat the spread of drugs had led to the murder of a nineyearold girl in the Union Territory.
“Reports have surfaced that some of the accused persons in the murder are drug addicts. The government has failed to contain the spread of drugs. It has become a matter of concern that ganja and other narcotic substances are easily available in Puducherry. There is no control over resto bars [that have been opened] in the name of tourism promotion,” he said, addressing a press conference.The body of the child was recovered from a drain near her house on Padasalai Veedhi at Sholai Nagar on Tuesday, three days after she went missing.
Police admission
The PCC chief, who is also the Puducherry MP, said senior police officers themselves had admitted to the widespread prevalence of drug abuse among school and college students.
There were also reports of the sale of drugs around educational institutions. However, there had been no concrete action to check the use of drugs in schools and colleges, he said.
Protest plan
“The Home Minister has not uttered a word about the incident involving the girl child. We will wait for two to three days to see what action is taken by the government to curb the spread of drugs. If no convincing measures are taken by the government, the Congress will galvanise likeminded parties to launch a major agitation or even call for a bandh in the coming days,” the PCC chief said.
LS seat
The PCC chief said it was natural for the Congress to stake claim to the Puducherry Lok Sabha seat as the constituency was held by the party. The “I.N.D.I.A. alliance leaders are in talks at the national level. The Congress is the natural claimant for the seat. However, it will be decided by the national leadership,” the MP said.