Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring today accepted the challenge of the Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema suggesting that there should be a dope test of the Congress and the Akali leaders. At the same time, he regretted that Cheema instead of taking the matter seriously was trying to politicize it and resort to the blame game.
“While I welcome Mr Cheema’s suggestion, let me ask why dope tests only of the Akali and Congress leaders, why not the AAP leaders also?” he asked, while suggesting that there should be periodical dope tests of all political leaders and it should include liquor also.
The PCC president suggested bringing in legislation to enforce periodical dope tests on every leader and public representative. Explaining his suggestion that there should be debate on allowing the cultivation of the poppy, Warring said, during his interaction with the people of border villages in Lambi and Muktsar area, he was told that there is not much ‘synthetic drug’ addiction as people get poppy husk from the licensed vends in the bordering Rajasthan and it is far less harmful than the synthetic drugs.
He said it is an accepted fact that poppy husk is less dangerous than synthetic drugs. He said, drug addiction is a reality and to finish it is a challenging task. Merely registering 9000 cases or demolishing a few houses of petty peddlers is not going to solve the problem, he noted.
He said, there are reports of about 8 or 9 deaths due to the drug overdose after May 31, the deadline set by the Punjab government to finish drugs from the state. He pointed out, Canada and several states in the US have legalized marijuana. Why can’t there be a debate about allowing traditional things like poppy in India, he asked, while adding, even the de-addiction tablets, which are provided to the addicts are so addictive that it is equally difficult to get rid of them like the regular addiction.
To another question about BJP state president Sunil Jakhar’s suggestion that all the Akali factions must unite in the interest of Punjab, Warring claimed that the Akalis and the BJP have already reached a secret understanding. But, he added, both the parties have been rejected by the people of Punjab and they stand no chance.
Asked whether an Akali-BJP alliance will impact the Congress prospects, he pointed out, Congress has defeated the alliance in the past also. Moreover, he added, now they are fighting for survival not for forming the government. At the Ludhiana West by-election, the PCC president asserted that the Congress will win with a record margin and create history.
He said the Congress really did not face any challenge there, except in terms of the misuse of the official machinery by the ruling AAP. Even with that, the AAP and other parties will be made to bite the dust by the Congress, he claimed.
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