Amarinder Singh warns Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP govt against 'legalising' drug trade

Former Chief Minister and Congress candidate from Amritsar Lok Sabha seat Amarinder Singh on Friday lashed out at the SAD-BJP government in Punjub after an MP of the coalition reportedly suggested that drug trade should be legalised in the state.

"I will not allow this government to write the death warrant of an entire young generation," Amarinder, who is locked in a keen tussle with senior BJP leader Arun Jaitely, told reporters in Amritsar. Referring to the MP's reported statement, Amarinder said it only vindicated Congress's charges that the ruling outfit was patronising drug trafficking.

Amarinder asked Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal "to have a heart and feel about the plight of those who have fallen prey to this scourge", while quoting the example of Maqboolpura locality in Amritsar where 90% women have become widows as their husbands have died of addiction. He said that SAD's Faridkot MP Paramjit Kaur Gulshan had recently suggested that there should be legal vends in Punjab.

Warning against any such move which can destroy an entire generation, the former Chief Minister said the infiltration of drugs into the state is too deep.

Besides, he added, the cheap synthetic drugs that are being manufactured in Punjab will find an easy way into the licensed vends and destroy the youths.