Punjab drug menace: Akali Dal's protest backfires

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is one of the few political parties in India which was never a divided house. However, the party’s decision to stage protests against the BSF has broken this myth. It’s the first time SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal faced opposition on the issue of organising protests against a security force.

The opposition was so strong that Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal was forced to clarify the protests were not against the BSF per se, but to make the agency "aware about the drug threat".

“The scheduled protest of the Shiromani Akali Dal on January 5 must not be misconstrued against any government agency. Rather, it was a dharna against the drugs menace in the state,” Badal said in Amritsar. He added that the state was “not only fighting the nation’s, but the world’s war against drugs,” as Punjab was on the transit route of the drugs supplied across the globe from international border.

Despite Badal’s clarification, the opposition continues within the party cadre. Rajya Sabha member and SAD general secretary, Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa termed the decision as “hasty and anti-constitutional”.

“The decision has been taken in a hasty manner. Government representatives should not participate in dharnas as it will be unconstitutional. I felt that the dharnas are against the BSF and the Central government which could disturb peace and harmony,” Dhindsa said in a closed-door meeting. He has also advised the party to think twice before announcing such protests.

Earlier, SAD chief and deputy chief minister, Sukhbir Singh Badal had announced the decision to hold protests in Attari border, Ferozepur, Fazilka and Gurdaspur districts to “pressurise the BSF to work properly”.

“The Shiromani Akali Dal has decided to lead the campaign for eradication of drugs from India by organising four massive protests along the border on January 5. The aim is to put pressure on the BSF to stop drugs from entering Punjab from Pakistan,” Sukhbir Singh Badal said.

The Badals have contended that since the security force has not been able to stop the flow of drugs into India, more assistance is needed from neighbouring countries to help resolve Punjab’s drug menace. The other demand by them is that the Centre, which governs the BSF, should provide the security force with funds to the tune of Rs 400 to Rs 500 crore to buy CCTVs and other modern equipment to help detect the presence of intruders along the border.

The issue between the Badals and the BJP is stirring up tempers. BJP Union minister Vijay Sampla questioned the Badals’ claims and said they should take a hard look why the drug problem was in Punjab alone. “We have never heard that there is any large scale problem of drugs in MP or Rajasthan. These states don’t have many drug addicts,” Sampla argued while replying to a query during a press conference. On the other hand, the Badals are angry as they feel that by such remarks their alliance partner, the BJP, are spoiling the image of Punjab. The younger Badal said it was unfortunate his state was being defamed and projected as if it was an "adda" of drugs.

“If we had not taken proactive actions and conducted the record seizures we have, these drugs would have travelled further into the country and wrecked havoc,” Sukhbir Singh Badal said. He added that vested interests were also portraying Punjabis as terrorists.

“This is why we are holding these dharnas. We want to make everyone aware of the danger posed by the penetration of drugs from Afghanistan into Punjab and engage everyone in this war against drugs and give a clarion call for a “nasha mukt Bharat”.