Kejriwal seeks help of ‘Sarpanchs’ to tackle drug menace in Punjab

AAP government has mishandled and mismanaged every aspect of the administration, including tackling the drug menace, and pushed Punjab into anarchy, says SAD

As Punjab continues to be plagued with drug menace, former Delhi Chief Minister and national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Arvind Kejriwal on Friday gave a clarion call to the village ‘Sarpanchs’ to wipe it out from the State, even as the Opposition took a dig at the government. He said with proactive role of the ‘Sarpanchs’, Punjab will soon be a drug-free State, adding that the government and the police are committed for the cause. Mr. Kejriwal was addressing a State-level function in which Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann administered the oath of office to 10,031 newly elected ‘Sarpanchs’ from across the State. The event was held at village Dhanansu in Ludhiana district. Mr. Mann said that in the recently concluded elections for panchayats, 13,147 new ones have been elected. He said the panchayats of 3,037 villages were selected unanimously and Ferozepur district took the lead by selecting 336 panchayats unanimously followed by Gurdaspur (335) and Tarn Taran (334). Meanwhile, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) said Mr. Kejriwal’s admission over the drug abuse in the State was an indictment of the AAP government. SAD chief spokesperson Arshdeep Singh Kler said before the 2022 election, Mr. Kejriwal had made tall claims about eradicating the drug menace, but they have fallen flat. He said the reality was that in the last two and a half years, the AAP government had mishandled and mismanaged every aspect of administration, including tackling the drug menace, and pushed Punjab into anarchy.

Published - November 08, 2024 08:56 pm IST