Chandigarh: The second point highlighted in the Congress’ election manifesto for Punjab Assembly Polls states: “Drug supply, distribution and consumption char hafte vich khatam (Done with Drugs in Four weeks only)”.
Propelled to power with 77 seats in the 117-member Assembly, Capt Amarinder Singh has put a rider on the war on drugs.
He has made a distinction between synthetic drugs called “chitta” in Punjab and the traditional high inducing substances like bhang and poppy husk.
Bhang is derived from the leaves of cannabis that grows mostly on its own in patches in fields. Cannabis is also referred to as Marijuana when it is dried, shredded and smoked. Marijuana use has been legalised in several parts of the US and is also a legal substance in The Netherlands.
Addicts typically have chitta by placing a few milligrams of the substance on a thin aluminium foil and lighting a flame under it. The intoxicating fumes are inhaled to obtain a high.
When asked about the four month promise to eradicate drugs in Punjab, Capt Amarinder Singh said his government promises to eradicate only ‘Chitta’. When asked if Chitta referred to heroin, one of the most expensive drugs to cross the border from Afghanistan and selling for upto Rs 5 crore a kilogram in the international market, he said Chitta is not heroin and refers to synthetic drugs.
Amarinder Singh has decided to form a task force led by a senior Police officer to work out the strategy to eradicate drugs from Punjab.
Capt Amarinder Singh has also made it clear that there would be no witch hunting and there would be no vendetta politics. He says due legal process will be followed and action will be taken if investigations reveal wrongdoing.
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