Governor warns of action against Mann govt over drugs

Continuing his tussle with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Friday threatened action under section 356 of the Constitution against the CM, alleging “breakdown of the law and order situation”. Purohit has asked Mann to send a report on the action taken by him against the rampant drug trade. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) hit back at the governor.

In his latest scathing letter, Purohit said he had received reports from various agencies regarding the rampant availability and abuse of drugs in Punjab. “It is common knowledge that they are available in chemist shops. A new trend is observed that they are being sold in government-controlled liquor vends. The Narcotics Control Bureau and Chandigarh Police recently sealed 66 liquor vends in Ludhiana which were selling drugs,” he said.

He pointed out that a recent report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee said that one in five people in Punjab is exposed or addicted to drugs. “These facts point to the breaking down of the law and order system in Punjab, so much so that now villagers have started protesting on the streets in large numbers and decided to set up their own village defence committees to protect themselves from drugs,” Purohit said.

“Before I take the final decision regarding sending a report to the President under Article 356 about the failure of the constitutional mechanism and take a decision about initiating criminal proceedings under Section 124 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), I ask you to send me the requisite information sought for under my letters referred to above, as also in the matter of the steps taken by you concerning the problem of drugs in the state, failing which I would have no choice but to take action according to law and the Constitution,” he said.

“Bound as I am by the duty placed on the Governor under the Constitution to see that the administration is carried on a level which would be regarded as good, efficient, impartial and honest, and that the proposals enunciated by the government are not contrary to the law of the land, I, therefore, advise you, warn you and ask you to respond to my letters and give me the information sought,” he said in the latest letter written to Mann.

The AAP questioned the Governor’s action. “Why is the @BJP4India so afraid of @AamAadmiParty and our CM @BhagwantMann? First they tried to snatch away democratic rights of our elected govt in Delhi by forcefully passing the #DelhiOrdinanceBill in the parliament and now they are threatening to impose the President’s Rule in Punjab. The @AAPPunjab govt is continuously working for the welfare of the state and will continue to do so, your threats won’t derail us from achieving our goal of #RanglaPunjab,” posted AAP’s Faridkot MLA Gurdit Singh Sekhon on X, previously Twitter.

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