Blaming the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) for drug menace in Punjab, senior congress leader and the cooperation minister, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa on Thursday said had the Akalis acted responsibly on the drugs issue during their tenure, the state wouldn’t have seen such harrowing days on Thursday.
The minister was responding to a demand by the former chief minister (CM) Parkash Singh Badal about conducting dope test of legislators and the ministers after the CM Amarinder Singh announced that as part of the anti-drug campaign the government employees would have to undergo dope test.
Attacking the ex-CM, Randhawa reminded the Akalis that during the tenure of Badal government in December 2013, he (Randhawa) had demanded in Assembly that all legislators must undergo dope test.
But at that time, then CM Badal kept mum so now he has no moral right to ask for dope test of legislators, Randhawa said adding that at that time he had challenged Badal on the floor of the Assembly to take an oath on the drugs issue at Sri Durbar Sahib (Golden Temple).
He said that when in power the Akali Dal speaks a different tone but when changes its tone drastically when goes out of power. Castigating Akalis further, Randhawa said that SAD is totally responsible for the narco-terrorism in Punjab because it protected patronage to drug lords in its tenure which caused this menace to spread its tentacles.
Raising the demand to conduct dope test on the SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal and narco test of his brother-in-law Bikram Singh Majithia, Randhawa said Amarinder Singh-led government is committed to breaking the backbone of the drug menace and taking numerous steps to ensure its eradication.
He also said that it is owing to the incompetence and the irresponsibility of the Akalis that on Thursday Punjab is passing through drug crisis of a large magnitude and the Akalis have no right to derive political mileage out of this.