Shiromani Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal launched a fierce attack on Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, when the house was debating the drug problem in the state and the steps taken by the ruling government. Her video later ended up creating a stir on social media. Harsimrat Kaur Badal, while taking jibe at Mann, said, “Six months ago, our Punjab Chief Minister used to sit in that corner. The person who used to arrive at Parliament drunk at 11 a.m. now runs Punjab. He used to come drunk, and everyone around him used to change seats. When he used to speak, people would get away from him, as he used to stink”. It is written on the roads of Punjab that don’t drink and drive. But in Punjab, a drunk man is driving the state. “One shall look into the situation Punjab is going through,” added Badal. Even Home Minister Amit Shah could not stop laughing at her remarks.
As long as Badal spoke on Bhagwant Mann, there was laughter in the house. Asserting that all of this was happening due to the complete failure of Bhagwant Mann to handle the situation, Badal said that the Chief Minister had also defamed the state after he was offloaded by Lufthansa airline because he could not stand on his feet due to being severely drunk. She also asserted that it was unfortunate that an inquiry into this episode, which was promised by the Union Aviation Minister, had been put on hold. “Every day we are witnessing drug overdose deaths, with even young women and girls being affected by it. Drugs are being home-delivered in Punjab, and the AAP government has completely failed to stop this,” she remarked. Asserting that Punjab was akin to a burning volcano and on the brink of civil war due to a combination of drug trafficking coupled with the breakdown of law and order and the destruction of peace and communal harmony, she said, “Never has such a situation arisen in the state earlier.” She was making a statement under Rule 193 on the increasing menace of illicit drugs in Punjab in parliament.
Detailing how the issue had also resonated in the Supreme Court, which had come down heavily on the AAP government for failing to file charge sheets in drug cases, Badal said the apex court had pulled up the government for filing a handful of charge sheets despite registering 31,000 drug-related FIRs. She said it was also a matter of concern that Punjab was ranked number one as far as smuggling drugs into the state was concerned. Calling for collective action to curb the spread of drugs in Punjab, Badal said Punjabis had contributed the most to the freedom struggle and, after that, to guarding the borders of the country, besides making the country self-reliant on the food grain front. Detailing how Guru Tegh Bahadur ji had laid down his life to save Hinduism and how the Sahibzade of Guru Gobind Singh ji chose to give up their lives rather than adopt Islam, Badal said strong action was required to put an end to the scourge of drugs in such a great land.
