Delhi drug bust: Congress leader’s ‘involvement’ dangerous, shameful, says Amit Shah

Amit Shah said that everyone has seen the plight of the youth of Punjab, Haryana and the entire north India due to drugs during the Congress rule

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said while the Modi government was working towards a drug-free India, the alleged role of a prominent person from the Congress in the ₹5,600-crore drug seizure case in Delhi was “extremely dangerous and shameful”.

“Everyone has seen the plight of youth in Punjab, Haryana, and the entire northern India due to drugs during the Congress rule. While the Modi government is taking the youth towards sports, education and innovation, the Congress wants to take them into the dark world of drugs,” said Mr. Shah on X.

The BJP has alleged that Tushar Goyal, the “kingpin” in the drug case, was the chairperson of the Delhi Pradesh Youth Congress’s Right to Information (RTI) cell, and was appointed to the post in March 2022. The Indian Youth Congress (IYC) has dismissed it as baseless, stating that Mr. Goyal was expelled in October 2022 for his involvement in anti-party activities.

Mr. Shah said the Modi government would never allow “the Congress leader to lure the youth into the quagmire of drugs with his political influence. Our government is determined to make India a ‘drug-free country’ by destroying the entire drug network, without looking at the political position or stature of the drug dealers”.

Rahul knows it: BJP

At a press conference, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said the silence of Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on the issue was an admission of guilt. “He is aware of the drug dealings going on within the Congress...the Congress is instrumental in pushing the youth of the country towards drug addiction,” he alleged.

Rejecting the IYC clarification on Mr. Goyal’s expulsion from the party, Mr. Bhatia accused the Congress of indulging in forgery to show that the accused had already been removed from the post. The BJP leader said soon after Mr. Goyal’s role in the drug seizure case came to light, a “backdated” letter of his expulsion was released. He demanded a “digital proof” from the Congress to establish that Mr. Goyal was indeed removed.

Asking the Congress to clarify its link with Mr. Goyal, Mr. Bhatia said the quantity of drugs seized by the Delhi police indicated that the objective was to push the youth of Haryana and other parts of the country into drug addiction. “What kind of ‘C’ Congress is it?...C for confusion, C for corruption and now C for cocaine....it has become cocaine Congress,” he said.

On Thursday, the IYC accused the BJP of attempting to tarnish the image of the Congress and its leaders using false information. “...Rather than spreading half-baked political stories, the BJP should trust the Delhi police to investigate and uncover the truth. We urge the Delhi police to take strict action against those arrested in the alleged drug bust, rather than allowing it to become a vicious political campaign,” it said.

Published - October 04, 2024 04:53 pm IST