No leniency for perpetrators of 'genocide' of youths, says Mann on drugs menace

Chandigarh, Jul 15 (PTI) Issuing a stern warning, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday said his government will adopt no leniency against those behind the "genocide" of youths through the scourge of drugs in the state.

Participating in a debate on the issue of 'Yudh Nasheyan Virudh' (war against drugs) on the concluding day of the special session of the assembly, he said many who patronized the drug trade have already been put behind bars.

He claimed affluent leaders not only used to patronize drug trade across the state but even supplied the drugs in their official government vehicles.

Mann said in the past no one had dared to arrest these leaders, but now his government has done so and they will have to pay the price for their "sins".

Without naming anyone, he said these leaders, known for their opulence acquired through illegal means, are now demanding special facilities in jail.

Mann said those responsible for the death of youths in Punjab don't deserve any sort of comfort in jail as they have to pay for their misdeeds.

He claimed a thorough enquiry has reflected that these leaders have amassed huge wealth through the drug trade, adding that strictest punishment will be ensured to them for this crime.

Taking on Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia, who was arrested in a disproportionate assets case, Mann said that as a fact of matter the latter had continued the "dubious legacy" of his family to "backstab" Punjab and its people for their vested interests.

He said Majithia's ancestors had "backstabbed" the people by holding a dinner for General Dyer on the same night of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919.

Majithia's wife and Akali MLA Ganieve Kaur Majithia was not in the House on the concluding day of the special session.

Mann said Punjab was being defamed over the issue of drugs whereas various other states have this problem.

Some forces inimical to the state had unleashed a "malicious" campaign to tarnish our image by labelling the hard working Punjabis as drug addicts, said Mann.

As Punjab is fighting national war against the drugs due to which it was being defamed continuously despite immense contribution in every field, he said.

He said the state's security forces have recently confiscated a huge amount of drugs from Gujarat and Rajasthan.

However, Mann said that Yudh Nasheyan Virudh, embarked by the state government, has broken the backbone of the drug trade.

He said that the scourge of drugs was a blot on the face of the state and it took more than two years for the state government to chalk out a strategy for wiping out this curse.

Mann said during investigations it has also come to light that addicts were using the drugs which were meant for giving anaesthesia to elephants.

He said his government is making concerted efforts for the welfare of the youth of the state. PTI CHS ZMN