Hooda: BJP has made Haryana a hub of drugs

Former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Friday stated that the ruling BJP government had made Haryana, which was a state known for widespread consumption of milk and milk products, into a hub of drugs, opium, heroin, brown sugar, smack, charas, ganja, cocaine, bhang and sulpha.

He said ever since the BJP came to power in the state, the drug dealers were having a field day and they had fearlessly spread their network across the state. Today, drug abuse had reached every street, village and neighbourhood of the state.

Hooda said Haryana was known for its pure food, wrestlers, soldiers and their health, but the BJP had made the drug business the identity of Haryana.

“The Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment itself presented a report in the Rajya Sabha in December 2023,” he said.

“According to this, 16.51 per cent of the drug addicts in Haryana use opium, heroin and other drugs. As many as 11 per cent people use ganja, bhang and hashish for intoxication. 5 per cent people also use drugs for sleep and use cocaine in large quantities,” he added.

Hooda said the extent to which drug addiction had increased in the state could be gauged from the fact that in the last five years, about 15 lakh people from different districts of the state had reached the OPDs and de-addiction centres of government hospitals. However, the actual figure could be much more than this as lakhs of people trapped in the quagmire of drug addiction did not come forward for treatment and ruined their lives.

The former Chief Minister said most of the patients who reached hospitals and de-addiction centres were from districts bordering Punjab and Rajasthan. “This means the Haryana Government knows from which side drug abuse is coming in the state, but still no action is being taken. It is clear from this that the government is deliberately promoting drug abuse in the state,” he said.

He said the increasing unemployment in the state wasalso a reason for the increasing drug empire. “The youth, frustrated by unemployment, are getting trapped in the clutches of drugs and crime and ruining their future. The BJP in power is constantly making such policies which increase unemployment, crime and drug abuse in the state. In such a situation, all responsibility falls on the parents and the public in the state,” he said.

Hooda has appealed to the public to be vigilant against the increasing drug abuse. Parents should pay special attention to their children and the youth. He urged people to talk to family members on sensitive issues like drug abuse and make everyone aware about its dangers.