Chandigarh, Feb 10 (IANS) Saying that Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria is apparently trying to help the Shiromani Akali Dal and its leader Sukhbir Singh Badal to revive itself for an “eventual alliance” with the BJP, through the “march against drugs”, the Punjab Congress on Tuesday asked the Governor whether it was an attempt to run the ‘Samjhuata Express’.
Joining the issue, AAP legislator Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said the yatra in which Badal and BJP leader Ashwani Sharma were seated together cannot be aimed at eradicating drugs.
“Such a spectacle does not inspire confidence; instead, it appears to be an exercise that shields criminals rather than confronting them,” he said.
Reacting to Badal joining the Governor’s march against drugs in Ferozepur, Amrinder Singh Raja Warring wrote on ‘X’, “My humble question to Hon Punjab Governor Shri Ghulab Chand Kataria Ji is whether the march he is leading against drugs is actually a campaign against drugs or an attempt to run the ‘Samjhuta Express’ and prepare ground for forging Akali-BJP alliance in the state.”
“Before leading the march, did you raise the matter with the Union Home Ministry under whose jurisdiction the border security falls?” he asked the Governor, while noting that the BSF jurisdiction has been expanded up to 50 km inside borders.
Warring said while the AAP government has completely failed already, what is the Central government doing to prevent the smuggling of drugs from across the border?
“I would request you to raise the matter with the Union Home Ministry before running the ‘Samjhauta Express’ for an Akali-BJP alliance in the name of an anti-drug march,” he urged the Governor, remarking while referring to the pictures of the Governor and Badal together.
“I must add, the pictures of the ‘march’ look too ‘nice’ to be overlooked for the obvious message they carry and convey,” he added.
Raising questions over the so-called anti-drug yatra initiated by the Governor, AAP chief spokesperson Dhaliwal said, while the state government has been consistently leading the fight against drugs across the state, the Governor’s parallel yatra sends a deeply troubling message about who he is choosing to stand with.
Dhaliwal told the media here that under the guidance of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, the state government has been continuously carrying out anti-drug yatras across Punjab.
“These yatras are not symbolic; they are part of a sustained, on-ground battle against drugs. However, rattled by the success of our government’s efforts, the Governor has now started his own separate yatra, and both the method adopted and the people involved in it raise several serious questions,” he added.
Emphasising that protecting the youth from the menace of drugs is a shared responsibility of society, Governor Kataria on Tuesday led an anti-drug awareness walk in Ferozepur as part of the state’s ongoing campaign to make a drug-free state.
Leading the awareness walk himself, Governor Kataria called upon all sections of society to unite in the fight against drugs.
He said drug abuse not only destroys individuals but also causes irreparable damage to society, and stressed that only collective and sustained efforts could eradicate this social evil from its roots.
–IANS
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