Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal claimed the magnitude of the drug problem in that state was "much less than in many other states in India". He criticised the opposition parties for "defaming" hard working people of Punjab by labelling them as "drug addicts".
Mr. Badal said some "forces inimical to the state" were deliberately branding the people of Punjab as "drug addicts" to portray a "wrong picture" of the state. He said some political parties had unleashed a malicious propaganda against the "patriotic sons of the soil".
He claimed the Punjab government had already tightened the noose around drug peddlers by putting them behind the bars and opening a network of de-addiction and rehabilitation centres in the state.
Mr Badal said he has urged Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to treat the Indo-Pak border in the state on par with the border in Jammu and Kashmir to enhance vigil on it to check cross-border infiltration.
Slamming the Congress for its "anti-Punjab" stance, the Chief Minister said the party was "inimical" to the state from day one as it "denied" Punjab of its legitimate territorial rights in terms of capital and share in river waters.
Mr Badal said the state government was making concerted efforts to make the youth aware of the glorious history of Punjab, adding that for the first time, unprecedented steps have been taken to perpetuate the cultural heritage of the state by constructing world class memorials at an expense of more than Rs. 1,000 crore.
