Facing criticism from various quarters and discordance in the party, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has decided to stay away from the dharnas planned by the Shiromani Akali Dal on January 5 along the International Border in protest against smuggling of narcotics, touted as one of the main reasons for the alarming levels of drug addiction in the State.
Mr. Badal said this at a party meeting here on Tuesday to chalk out plans for the dharnas, ostensibly aimed at pressuring the Border Security Force to tighten vigil and pre-empting the launch of an anti-drugs campaign by BJP president Amit Shah on January 12.
At the meeting, an open house, party secretary-general Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa said the decision to organise the dharnas was taken in haste, without taking the leadership into confidence. Though there was nothing wrong in conducting an awareness campaign against drugs or going after traffickers, organising a dharna in protest against the BSF and the Union government could affect peace and harmony in the State and threaten national security.
Participation of Ministers and others holding government positions in the agitation would be considered unconstitutional.
Mr. Badal later told presspersons that though he would not participate in the dharnas, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal would lead them in his capacity as Akali Dal president. Surprised by the manner in which the “awareness campaign” was named “dharna,” Mr. Badal said the programme would be peaceful and the public would not be put to any inconvenience.
He asked the party leaders to be cautious in their speeches.
A press release from the media adviser to the Deputy Chief Minister said three dharnas would be organised, and Ministers would take part in them in their private capacity, leaving their staff and official vehicles behind.
The Chief Minister was quoted as saying that he was not against either the BSF or the Union government, though surveillance along the border should be intensified.
The programme was to highlight that narcotics from Afghanistan were finding their way into Punjab, where everyone was now engaged in a “Nasha mukt Bharat” (A drug-free India) campaign.
Sources said sections within the BJP and the Congress were ridiculing the Akali criticism that the Centre was not “doing enough” to stop the flow of drugs.
They said the cultivation and sales of opium was banned through legislation in 2012. Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh were getting ready to meet the March deadline to close all sales counters.
To drive home their point, they said that compared with 2013 when 416.6 kg of heroin was seized, the BSF recovered 570.8 kg during 2014 directly or provided intelligence inputs that led to the seizure.
Congress State president Partap Singh Bajwa demanded that President’s Rule be imposed in the State and proceedings initiated against Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal for making seditious statements and inciting his party workers to disturb law and order.
After the latest confrontation between the partners of the ruling alliance on various issues, Mr. Badal lost the right to stay in power.
