Hoshiarpur, Sep 25 (IANS) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Rajya Sabha MP Tarun Chugh on Friday met families affected by drug abuse in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur as part of the party’s ‘Nasha Mukt Punjab’ campaign and expressed concern over the devastating impact of drugs on families and youth.
Chugh said the pain visible in the eyes of mothers, sisters, widows and children “is not the tragedy of individual families but the pain of Punjab. There is anger in the eyes of the people and anguish in their hearts”.
He added that mothers “are losing their sons, sisters are left holding Rakhi with no brother left to tie it to, widows are losing their husbands and children are growing up without their parents. In some families, more than one child has been lost to drugs. The shoulders that were supposed to become the support of ageing parents are today carrying the bodies of their own children”.
Chugh said the state government’s responsibility was to protect the youth from the drug menace, but alleged that the Bhagwant Mann government had failed to dismantle the networks of drug traffickers and the supply chain that makes drugs available across the state.
He said the state government has failed to provide a clear and effective roadmap capable of producing results on the ground.
Referring to the cases involving Mohanjeet Singh and Gulzar Singh, the BJP leader added that raising questions before the state government cannot be treated as a crime.
He said the allegations surrounding these cases must be properly investigated and accountability must be established wherever wrongdoing is found.
Chugh also raised concerns over the wider law and order situation in Punjab, saying citizens as well as police personnel are facing an increasingly difficult security environment.
He said that incidents involving gangsters, extortion networks and attacks on police establishments raise serious questions about the state government’s ability to maintain law and order.
He added that Punjab cannot accept a situation where its young generation is destroyed by drugs.
“Punjab is sitting on a volcano. If we do not save this generation today, the next generation will pay the price,” Chugh said.
–IANS
vg/khz
