Kerala Assembly erupts over alleged “political patronage” to the drug mafia; Speaker adjourns the House

The war of words transpired when the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) opposition moved an adjournment motion seeking to indict the government for “failing to insulate students” from drugs

Kerala Legislative Assembly

Speaker A. N. Shamsheer adjourned the House on Friday after the ruling front and opposition duelled stridently over alleged political patronage extended to the drug mafia.

The war of words transpired when the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) opposition moved an adjournment motion seeking to indict the government for “failing to insulate students” from falling prey to narcotic drugs.

Dispute on a brawl in Wayanad

The dispute centred around a brawl between the students of the Government Polytechnic at Meppad in Wayanad district recently.

Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan protested the ruling front’s charge that narcotic offenders allied to the Congress-affiliated Kerala Students Union (KSU) had grievously injured Aparna Gowri, the joint district secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] aligned Students Federation of India (SFI), for spearheading a “say no to drugs” campaign on the campus.

Mr. Satheesan countered that infighting in the SFI had resulted in the assault and that opposition students’ unions had no role in the fracas. He also quoted news reports and Ms. Gowri’s Facebook post to bolster his case.

The accusations prompted ruling front members to rise from their seats in SFI’s defence. Left Democratic Front (LDF) and UDF members hurled accusations and challenges at each other across the aisle.

Opposition leader’s points

Mr. Satheesan drove his point in by accusing the drug mafia of sponsoring a CPI(M)-sponsored football match in Kochi.

He said publicity stunts like human chains, mass runs and candle lighting alone would not deter the drug mafia.

Enforcement and awareness should march in lockstep. However, the government lacked the political will to take the fight to the powerful drug mafia.

Earlier, Congress legislator Mathew Kuzhalnadan, who moved the adjournment motion, alleged that the drug peddler who recruited a 13-year-old girl student in Azhiyoor in Kozhikode as a carrier had free rein in the local police station due to his strong political association with the ruling party.

Excise Minister’s defense

Excise Minister M. B. Rajesh criticised the UDF’s attempt to politicise an issue that required bipartisan support. He said Kerala was not a “vulnerable State” in United Nations or Central government’s reports.

Kerala’s substance abuse pattern indicated that synthetic drugs reached the State from other regions. There was no local production. Successive governments have successfully eradicated commercial-scale ganja cultivation.

Mr. Rajesh said the Excise department would deploy trained dogs to sniff out drugs. It has purchased field inspection kits to detect narcotic impairment.

A Kerala Excise Mobile Intervention Unit (KEMU) is on the cards to stop drug peddling in public places. The government has armed excise enforcers with the latest 9 mm pistols and 37 vans.

Drugs flowing from outside Kerala and India

Mr. Rajesh said the accent was on cracking down on wakefulness drugs like synthetic meth that found their way into the country from Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Excise has stepped up vigilance at land, sea and air border checkpoints. Enforcers also regularly surveilled forest areas and localities abutting inter-State borders.

He said synthetic drugs posed a particularly grave threat to society. They, especially LSD “stamps” and MDMA pills, were quickly concealable, transportable and vulnerable to misdeclaration at air, sea and land border check-posts.

Law enforcement had intercepted 1,3694 kg of ganja smuggled into Kerala for street sale in 2022. It confiscated 7.7 kilograms of MDMA and 23.73 kg of hash oil. The seizures were just the tip of the iceberg.

Mr. Rajesh said an increasing number of impressionable youth were slipping into drug crime, given the sizeable profits involved.

The State government has initiated preventive incarceration for habitual drug offenders. The Prevention Of Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1988, provided for imprisonment without trial for up to two years.