Chandigarh, Oct 16: All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary and party’s Punjab unit In-charge, Sachin Pilot, who is on a five-day visit to the state, on Friday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Central government of “failing” to stop cross border drug trafficking.
Speaking to reporters in Chandigarh, Pilot said: “The BJP is trying to find a foothold in Punjab. It is also true that when the BJP was in power in alliance with the (Shiromani) Akali Dal, they were responsible too. The BJP has been in power at the Centre for 12 years. What have the Defence and Home Ministries done to stop drugs being smuggled from Pakistan through drones? It is easy to talk about drugs, but the BJP has failed to fulfil the responsibilities entrusted to it.”
He added that the BJP is now discussing about the drug menace in Punjab “in view of the upcoming Assembly polls”. “The people will question the BJP,” he said. Sachin Pilot claimed that the law-and-order situation in Punjab has been reduced to such that “gangsters have been firing at people in broad daylight”.
“The law-and-order situation has collapsed in Punjab. People have been murdered in several places, and the state administration has failed to control gang violence,” the Congress leader said. The Punjab Congress in-charge added: “My attempt is to reach every home in Punjab where people have been shot like this, share the sorrows of the bereaved family and look into the status of the probe following the incident, whether the accused have been punished or not.”
Pointing to the alleged murder of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota in Punjab’s Mansa, Pilot said: “An atmosphere of violence has been created in Punjab where people are being shot on live videos. The police and the administration have become helpless because of which the gangsters are enjoying a free run.”
The Congress leader claimed: “The current situation in Punjab is even worse than when terrorism was at its peak in the state.” “We will try our best to bring an improvement to the current situation where bombs are being hurled at police stations and police personnel are being shot,” Pilot asserted.
IANS