
Drawing attention to the issue of smuggling of drugs and illicit alcohol in the state, the Gujarat Congress Tuesday accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of profiteering from the racket to allegedly fund their election campaigns.
Addressing his first press conference as the deputy chief legislature party (CLP) leader in Gandhinagar Tuesday, Shailesh Parmar said, “The deteriorating law and order in Gujarat is due to the open trade of drugs and alcohol. We had recently seen the biggest drug seizure of heroin in the world at the Mundra port owned by Adani. However, the BJP governments at the state and the Centre have not carried out any investigation. We demand to know how much more drugs have come to Gujarat via Mundra Port in the past. Today, Gujarat has become synonymous with Udta Bhajpa and Udta Adani.”
Parmar added that no questions have been asked of the Adani Group regarding the massive seizure of drugs “since they are BJP’s major financer”. “…the party is relying on the Rs 21,000 crore worth of seized heroin for funding their election campaign ahead of the Gujarat Vidhan Sabha polls,” he said.
Sukhram Rathva, leader of opposition in Gujarat assembly, claimed that illicit alcohol and narcotics drugs worth Rs 215.14 crore have been caught in the state in the past two years. “The Mundra port has become the focal point of drug smuggling in Gujarat and neither the state government nor the Centre is interested in catching the major fishes involved…,” he said, demanding an investigation “at the highest level” into the racket.
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“The state government can’t provide jobs to our youth nor can it ensure transparency in government exams; hence, they are being pushed into the world of drugs,” he further said.
“I ask the chief minister and home minister, how come liquor is so easily available in Gujarat, despite so many checkposts… It is because of the connivance of senior police officials of border districts? Not just the cops but Kamalam office of the BJP also receives a cut from the illicit liquor trade,” said Parmar.
The MLA from the Danilimda constituency of Ahmedabad also hit out against Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi over the rising cases of murders in Surat. “The home minister’s only priority is to ensure that communal tension remains high in Gujarat so that his party can milk it for votes during the elections. He has completely failed in his duty to restore law and order in Gujarat,” said Parmar.
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