People dying of spurious liquor, AAP's war on drugs mere ‘optics': Congress

Indian Express

17-05-2025

THE CONGRESS in Punjab Friday termed as 'mere optics' Aam Aadmi Party government's renewed push to 'Yudh Nashean Virudh', saying campaign could not have come at a worse time when state is still mourning 27 people who died in the hooch tragedy at Majitha in Amritsar.
State Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said, 'When the funeral pyres of those 27 unfortunate people are yet to cool down, you are celebrating a lost war'.
Attacking Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal after they announced the launch of Nasha Mukti Yatra from SBS Nagar, Warring said it was 'the most insensitive and untimely publicity'.
'Which 'war against drugs; are you talking about when 27 people have lost lives after consuming spurious liquor just a few days ago. The AAP is trying to create an ugly optical illusion to fool people,' he added.
Twenty-seven people, mostly daily-wage labourers, died after consuming spurious liquor in Amritsar district.
Attacking the AAP government for its failure to curb drugs in three years and a half, Warring asked them to stop blaming others.
'Your question hour is over and now is the time for answers,' he said.
Warring also quoted former police officer and AAP MLA Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh who has alleged that the AAP leaders were involved in the trade of illicit and spurious liquor.
'Listen to your own MLA before trying to blame others,' Warring said, countering Mann and Kejriwal's allegations against other parties' governments accusing them of patronising the drug mafia.
Meanwhile, Congress MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla said Mann should take full responsibility for the spurious liquor tragedy and hold top officials accountable.
'The Amritsar tragedy was not an isolated incident. There have been similar incidents during the past few years but the government has not learnt any lesson,' he said.
Aujla, the MP from Amritsar, said, 'The Punjab government's ongoing Yudh Nashian Virudh (campaign against drugs) has no connect whatsoever with the ground reality. Otherwise, this tragedy would not have happened.'
He pointed out that 120 deaths were reported due to spurious liquor consumption in Amritsar, Batala and Tarn Taran in 2020.
In March 2024, 20 people died due to consumption of spurious liquor in Sangrur.
'No one knows what was done to the culprits and that is why people have no fear of the law. Now it has happened again in my (Amritsar parliamentary) constituency,' Aujla said.
He added the recent deaths exposed the Mann's government's claims about the Yudh Nashian Virudh campaign.
'The chief minister should take full responsibility for the tragic deaths. He should hold top officials responsible and get resignations of all those government functionaries who are at the helm… Suspending DSP- and SHO-rank officials is not enough,' Aujla said.
He also claimed the state government was focusing solely on revenue collection.
Highlighting that most victims of the recent and past hooch tragedies came from the poor strata of society who put their lives at risk to buy liquor from unauthorised sources, Aujla suggested the government should keep this in mind and provide country liquor at cheap rates in villages.
'Good quality liquor is not being sold at the actual price but at a higher rate, due to which the poor class is being forced to buy cheap and spurious liquor,' he said and claimed there was a difference between the minimum sale price and the actual sale price of different country liquor brands.
Aujla said he had been raising alarm by writing to the director general of police and government officials, highlighting the worsening drug crisis, particularly in Amritsar and the border areas.
'I have consistently exposed the deep-rooted drug nexus and repeatedly brought the issue to the attention of the government and now the spurious liquor issue but all my missives were ignored,' he claimed.
He also alleged there was a dangerous collusion between drug cartels, certain senior police personnel, and some state government officials.
'I strongly demand that the state government form a high-level committee under the supervision of a sitting high court judge to investigate the number of drug and liquor-related deaths and go into related issues,' he said.
Aujla said the situation in Amritsar was very serious and demanded that the central government send a high-level delegation under a Supreme Court judge to investigate the manufacture and supply of drugs and poisonous liquor in Amritsar and other parts of the state and pinpoint the people behind these activities.
The AAP government has drawn flak for the Amritsar tragedy, with the opposition demanding Mann's resignation.
The state government has said most of the culprits were arrested and vowed to ensure the strictest punishment for them.
A police probe has revealed that methanol — a chemical used in industrial products — was procured in bulk online to prepare the toxic brew.