Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh turned to the Union home ministry again, seeking assistance for his battle against the drug menace in his state. In a letter to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh—his second on the same subject in less than a month—he urged the home ministry to draft a national policy for prevention and control of drug abuse across the country.
The chief minister believes that while drug abuse is highly prevalent in Punjab, it is rampant across many other parts of the country as well.
Capt Amarinder Singh may be doing all he can to fight the drug problem in his state, but there is apparently no end to the supply of drugs to the state from neighbouring states and the national capital. In his letter, the chief minister had pointed out that Delhi was "fast becoming a safe haven for drug peddlers and smugglers". "Since it is under the direct control and supervision of the Union home ministry, I seek your indulgence in the matter for directing the Delhi Police to formulate an effective strategy to check and control drug peddling and smuggling", the chief minister said in his letter.
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The letter comes in the wake of Punjab government initiating strict action against smugglers and drug peddlers, forcing them to flee to the neighbouring states, where they had a base for long. "It is not the problem in Punjab alone, but most parts of north India, " Capt Amarinder Singh is reported to have told the state police three weeks ago.
Incidentally, cannabis not only grows wild in Himachal Pradesh, it is also cultivated there. It grows wild in the other states around Punjab as well, from where the processed drug is finding its way into Punjab.
Capt Amarinder Singh has also written to his counterparts in Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Rajasthan, seeking their help. He has specifically requested them to direct their police forces to cooperate with the Punjab police in the battle against drug mafia and drug abuse.
Meanwhile, the Punjab government—for which helping youth to come out of addiction has become a major task—has made films on the disastrous consequences drug abuse, to be shown all over the state.
The chief minister had also sought amendment to the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, which, while providing death penalty for a second time offence, lets off the first time offender. His government, said Captain Amarinder Singh, felt that this should not be allowed to happen and even first-time offenders should be awarded death penalty for offences that are clearly elaborated under Section 31A of the NDPS Act, 1985.
It may be recalled that the chief minister made it mandatory for government employees to undergo a dope test. He had also written to Giani Gurbachan Singh, the head priest of the Akal Takht, appealing that the highest temporal authority of the community urge members to desist from drug abuse.