Cong slams BJP over ‘growing drug trade’ in MP, question PM’s ‘silence’

PTI, Oct 11, 2024, 4:16 PM IST

Days after a massive drug haul from a factory on the outskirts of Bhopal, the Congress on Friday alleged that a close associate of Madhya Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Jagdish Devda is involved in drug trade in the state, and questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “silence” on the issue.

Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Jitendra Patwari alleged that Prime Minister Modi did not provide 2 crore jobs every year, but “created 2 crore drug addicts every year”.

There was no immediate reaction from the BJP or Devda on the allegations.

Drugs in many states are linked to the racket busted in Bhopal and the Modi government is completely responsible for this, Patwari said at a press conference at the AICC headquarters here.

The Modi government had presented a report in the Parliament, stating that around 40 crore people in the country consume drugs, he said.

This number of drug addicts in the country is increasing by about 2.10 crore every year, he claimed.

The situation is such that even BJP leaders and workers are worried because their children are addicted to drugs, he said.

Patwari alleged that a close associate of the Deputy Chief Minister Devda is involved in drug trade, and questioned Prime Minister Modi’s “silence” over the issue.

“Today, the drug business is spreading throughout the country, in such a situation, what steps is the Modi government taking? A favourite of the Deputy Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh is running a drug racket in the state, so why is Chief Minister Mohan Yadav silent?” Patwari said.

Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee media vice chairman Abhay Dubey said the BJP MLA from Mauganj had written a letter to the Inspector General of the Rewa Range demanding to stop the growing drug trade in his area.

The situation is such that today drugs are easily available in every nook and corner of Madhya Pradesh including Bhopal, he alleged.

Their remarks come days after authorities seized mephedrone (MD) drug valued at Rs 1,814 crore and its raw materials from a factory on the outskirts of Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal and arrested two persons.

Total, 907.09 kg of mephedrone, both in solid and liquid forms, was seized in the raid and search operation carried out jointly by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Delhi, at the factory located in Bagroda industrial estate near Bhopal on Saturday, they said.

This is the largest illegal factory ever busted by the Gujarat ATS. The unit had the capacity to manufacture 25 kg of MD drug per day, the ATS said in a statement