The Gujarat Legislative Assembly on Wednesday witnessed a heated debate on Wednesday after Minister of State for Law and Justice Kaushik Vekariya compared the state’s crime rates with that of Punjab and Kerala to a query by AAP MLA Hemant Ahir over drug seizures in Jamnagar and Kutch districts
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Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi said that a police station has been built on the land where “Dada’s bulldozer” had razed illegal structures of those linked to drug cases. Sanghavi was referring to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, who is fondly called ‘Dada’.
Vekariya also told the House that under action taken against all those involved in drug cases, in both these districts, “Dada’s bulldozer” was used to demolish their structures.
The ministers were responding to a question raised by Ahir, an MLA from Jamjodhpur, on the action taken by the state government against drug peddlers and others involved in drug crimes in Kutch and Jamnagar districts. Ahir also sought to know how much drugs were seized from districts of Kutch and Jamnagar in the last two years.
The debate during the Question Hour turned into a heated exchange of words when Vekariya started comparing the National Crime Records Bureau 2023 report on crime rates of Gujarat, Punjab and Kerala.
Referring to the report, he said that “Gujarat registered 561 crimes with a rate of 0.8 per cent”, which he claimed was the lowest in the country, without giving further details.
In comparison, Vekariya said, “Punjab registered over 11,500 crimes with a crime rate of 37.6 per cent, while Kerala recorded 30,697 crimes with a crime rate of 85.7 per cent”. The AAP is in power in Punjab, while the Left Democratic Front (LDF) led by CPI(M) governs Kerala.
AAP MLA Visavadar Gopal Italia stood up and objected to the minister’s remarks on Punjab. Reacting to this, Vekariya said the Opposition should be prepared to listen. “I have not made any political remarks. They should be prepared to listen. I haven’t even named any government,” Vekariya pointed out.
Speaker Shankar Chaudhary intervened and asked Italia to take his seat and said that the AAP MLA cannot just intervene in the minister’s reply and stand as if it is a market. The Speaker also requested the minister to give a brief reply.
Ahir objected, stating that “if we congratulate the Gujarat police, then we should also congratulate the Punjab police when drugs are caught in that state” and requested the minister to let Punjab where it is and not to bring it into the discussion.
When the Speaker urged members not to turn the issue into a Punjab-versus-Gujarat debate, Ahir said it was Vekariya who opened the scope for a comparison of both states.Ahir then raised a supplementary question, seeking to know the action taken against the ships that were used to bring these drugs and seizure of properties of accused, if any.
Vekariya replied that in Kutch district alone, bulldozers razed 125 illegal structures of people involved in drug cases, freeing an area of 26,000 sq m worth over Rs 32 crore.
“In the last two years in Kutch and Jamnagar, 135 cases had been registered under the NDPS Act. In the last two years, 306 accused have been arrested under 135 crimes in Jamnagar and Kutch districts, legal action was taken against 244 individuals and drugs worth more than Rs 244.59 crore have been seized,” the Minister of State for Law and Justice said.
“Gujarat’s 1,600-km coastline and its proximity to the international maritime boundary with Pakistan make the western state vulnerable to drug trafficking through the sea route. However, coordinated efforts between central agencies and the Gujarat police have led to major seizures. These are not just statistics; they reflect the daring operations by our police officers who embark on the operations without fearing for their lives in pitch-dark nights to seize these consignments,” Vekariya said.
Drugs worth Rs 3,727 crore were seized, 1,647 crimes and 41,000 kg of drug business were exposed in the last two years, Vekariya said, adding that an Anti-Narcotics Task Force has been activated in six zones of the state.
Deputy CM Harsh Sanghavi joined the debate and said, “In one case in Kutch, a house from where drugs were recovered was demolished with Dada’s bulldozer. A police station has been built on the same land which will be inaugurated soon.”
He also claimed that Gujarat was the first state to conduct a “top-to-bottom” investigation beyond its borders, citing a joint operation with the Odisha Special Task Force against major ganja suppliers known as the Pandi brothers.
“Seven luxury cars, mansions and farmhouses belonging to them were seized and would be auctioned soon. Earlier the vehicles seized in such cases were kept for long but the policy has been changed now,” Sanghavi added.
Congress MLA Amit Chavda raised concerns over Gujarat becoming a consumption hub too in addition to manufacturing and landing hub. Cases of open Ganja cultivation have been reported, Chavda pointed out. The Gujarat Congress president sought to know how many people, who were actual masterminds behind the drug networks rather than street-level peddlers and users, were arrested.
Sanghvi said that the government has not only taken legal action but also adopted a humane approach and has been conducting counselling to drug users with the help of special doctors to bring them back to the mainstream.
“Instead of sending the youth who are victims of drug addiction to jail, efforts are being made to bring them back to the mainstream through counselling under the chairmanship of the Police Commissioner in cities like Surat, Vadodara and Ahmedabad, along with their families. In order to ensure that the affected people get help at the local level, it has also been decided to open new centers for drug liberation in every district in this year’s budget,” he added.
Cases of open Ganja cultivation have been reported (Image generated using Google Gemini) 
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