BJP not to invite SAD for anti-drug campaign in state - State unit backs party president Amit Shah on issue of detainees

Saturday, 10/01/2015

http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/bjp-not-to-invite-sad-for-anti-drug-campaign-in-state/28372.html

Phagwara : Toeing the line of the central leadership, the state unit of the BJP today made it clear that it was against the early release of the 13 Sikh prisoners convicted under TADA.

Sikh activist Gurbaksh Singh Khalsa has been on a fast since the past 57 days, pressing for the release of Sikh detainees.

Speaking to mediapersons after the Punjab BJP’s working committee meeting here, state president Kamal Sharma said: “We are aware of the fact that this may be a flashpoint in our ties with the Akalis who have been demanding Central Government’s intervention over the release of 13 Sikh prisoners. But we have decided to stick to president Amit Shah’s decision not to give in to the Akali Dal’s demand.”

The BJP state working committee meeting was held to chalk out plans for the forthcoming “Nasha Mukt Punjab Jan Jagran Yatra” scheduled to be kickstarted a day after Shah’s visit to Amritsar on January 22. Legislator Harsh Sanghavi from Surat too was at the meeting to plan Shah’sprogramme.

The BJP national secretary, Tarun Chugh, said there was no plan to involve Akali leaders in its anti-drug campaign in the state. He said the SAD had already held its anti-drug campaign at the party level on January 5.

This could be interpreted as another blow for the Akali leadership that has been issuing statements that it is willing to support the BJP campaign.

Sharma said the drug problem in Punjab had assumed alarming proportions. “The menace of narco terrorism in Punjab needs to be tackled with a multi-pronged strategy,” he said.

He also said it was being wrongly projected that the Sikhs were being defamed by labelling them as addicts. “There is no conspiracy to blame any community,” he said. He chose not to comment on Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal’s accusation that the BJP-ruled states of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan were responsible for the drug flow into Punjab.

Addressing the executive members, Sharma said it was the most appropriate time for the BJP to expand its base in the state.

“We want to cash in on the BJP wave. The people are disillusioned with the Congress. The AAP bubble has burst. We have grown from 3.5 lakh members six years ago to more than 9 lakh members now,” he added.