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No political motive behind anti-drug drive: Punjab guv Kataria
Not here to fight elections. It is my moral duty to stand with citizens in their sorrow and happiness, said Punjab governor Gulab Chand Kataria.
Governor Gulab Chand Kataria on Wednesday said that he has no electoral ambitions and his role in the state is guided purely by constitutional responsibility.
“I am not here to fight elections. I am living on the salary paid by the people. The vehicle I use belongs to the public. It is my moral duty to stand with citizens in their sorrow and happiness,” Kataria said during the Fazilka leg of his anti-drug march.
Governor’s remarks came a day after the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Opposition Congress sharply criticised the presence of Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal and BJP leaders in his march. Head of Radha Soami Satsang Beas Baba Gurinder Singh Dhillon also walked alongside the governor on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, key opposition leaders were conspicuous by their absence. All four sitting AAP MLAs of Fazilka district and Congress leaders, including Ferozepur MP Sher Singh Ghubaya, also stayed away.
Leading a foot march from Sanjeev Palace to Ghantaghar in Fazilka, Kataria was accompanied by former minister Surjit Kumar Jiyani and BJP leader Rana Gurmeet Sodhi. The march witnessed participation from vice-chancellors of universities, heads of educational institutions, NGOs, social organisations and local residents.
Kataria reiterated that the anti-drug drive was a collective social movement aimed at reclaiming Punjab’s youth and restoring the state’s identity as ‘Rangla Punjab’.
Defending his outreach to religious heads and political leaders, Kataria, while addressing a gathering, asserted that the fight against drugs transcends partisan considerations.
“I have invited every dera head and political stalwart, cutting across party lines, to join this campaign. The initiative was conceived as a people’s movement and not a political platform,” the governor said, adding that the campaign must evolve into a people’s movement.
“Only unity can transform this into a genuine people’s movement against drugs,” he added.
Earlier in the day, the governor visited a de-addiction centre at Jattwali and interacted with inmates.
Attending march a social duty, says Ashwani Sharma
Bathinda: The working president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Punjab unit, Ashwani Sharma, on Wednesday said that the party is attending the anti-drug march being undertaken by the Governor Gulab Chand Kataria as a call of social duty.
Talking to reporters in Bathinda, Sharma questioned why the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is staying away from the awareness drive against the drug menace while it claims to have zero tolerance against narcotics in the state.
“Instead of extending support to an initiative taken by the governor, the AAP leadership is engaged in mudslinging. Unfortunately, the attendance of the BJP leadership in the anti-drug march is seen from a petty political prism. We are contributing our bit to make the awareness drive a success,” Sharma said.
He said that when they were not in power, the chief minister Bhagwant Mann and the AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal used to charge the previous government of the Congress and the SAD-BJP for patronising the drug trade.
“If the same formula is applied today, then are AAP leaders and their ministers enabling drug trade? Fact is that the drug is openly being sold in the villages and cities across the state, and the AAP government has failed to curb the nuisance,” Sharma alleged.
