Senior BJP leader and member of parliament from West Bengal Soumitra Khan, has raised serious concerns over the alleged “growing drug menace” in the state.
Addressing a Press conference in Delhi on Tuesday, Khan claimed that drug addiction is spreading like wildfire across West Bengal, while the state government remains indifferent to the crisis. Khan had sought information from the ministry of social justice and empowerment regarding the steps taken by the central government to combat drug abuse in West Bengal. In response, the ministry revealed that Rs 4.06 crore had been allocated to NGOs in the state for drug de-addiction initiatives. However, despite this funding, there has been no significant improvement in the situation. The ministry also provided shocking statistics on substance abuse in West Bengal. According to fact, 27,00,000 individuals are addicted by alcohol and 1,44,000 individuals are addicted by cannabis. There is opium addiction among 3,43,000 individuals and sedative addiction are among 1,12,000 individuals. Highlighting these figures, Mr Khan accused the Trinamul Congress (TMC)-led state government of failing to implement the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan (Drug-Free India campaign) in the eight most affected districts of West Bengal.
“Despite Rs 4.06 crore being allocated to NGOs for drug de-addiction, the situation remains unchanged. “These statistics clearly exposed how helpless the West Bengal administration is in tackling drug and opium trafficking. The central ministry’s data has completely exposed the failures of the TMC government,” Khan asserted. He further emphasised the urgent need for action, citing reports of 15,000 distress calls from drug abuse victims across the state. With the drug crisis worsening, political tension is expected to rise as the BJP continues to target the ruling TMC over governance failures. The state government is yet to respond to these allegations. Pradesh Congress Committee leader and state spokesperson Soumya Aich Roy said BJP and TMC have no desire to eradicate drug menace from West Bengal. “If the central government is providing funds to eradicate addiction TMC is misutilising it. Both parties have no intent of reducing drug addiction. All are eyewash,” he said. Trinamul leader and MP from Mathurapur, Bapi Halder, dismissed Soumitra Khan’s allegations. He stated that the entire country is aware of how the central government is neglecting the people of Bengal and pushing them towards crisis by withholding funds. Halder further alleged that West Bengal does not receive any central assistance for projects, including the Awas Yojana, making it clear that despite having 12 BJP MPs, the central government is indirectly humiliating them in front of the people of Bengal.