Sukhbir blames Centre for drug flow into state

Rajpura, Punjab: Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal today said the SAD manifesto would be released on Monday. He said his party would ensure a Common Minimum Programme with the NDA to safeguard the interests of the state.

Calling Capt Amarinder Singh a “part-time politician,” Sukhbir blamed the Government of India for ‘failure’ to check the flow of drugs into the state owing to porous borders. He held Amarinder responsible for Operation Bluestar and the drug trade in the state.

He addressed three rallies in support of SAD-BJP candidate Deepinder Dhillon in Patiala, Sanaur and Rajpura.

Claiming that the BJP manifesto, which promises interlinking of rivers, would not harm Punjab’s interests, Sukhbir said his party would sort out the matter with its ally (BJP). He claimed that both Arun Jaitley and Dhillon would win their seats.

“It was the Congress government at the Centre that planned Operation Bluestar in 1984. And now, under the Congress rule, central forces protecting the borders have failed to check drug smuggling,” he claimed.

He said Congress candidate from Patiala Preneet Kaur had failed to solve the Ghaggar problem, despite holding the rank of Minister of State in the Union Government. If voted to power, the NDA would solve the problem within six months of taking charge, Sukhbir told the voters.

Source: The Tribune