‘Zero tolerance’: Centre makes drugs-terror link

Shah emphasised the Narendra Modi government’s zero-tolerance policy against the menace which poses a major risk for the country’s young people

New Delhi The Union government has a zero-tolerance policy towards the drug menace, Union home minister Amit Shah told Parliament on Wednesday, drawing a link between drugs, black money and terrorism, and calling on states to fight the scourge jointly with the Centre.

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Announcing an all-out war against the drug menace, Shah elaborated on the extensive mechanism put in place to tackle drug-trafficking, defended the additional power of front-line forces such as the Border Security Force, and underlined that government policy was sensitive towards the “victims” of drug consumption.

“Drug menace is a major problem and drug money also contributes in funding terrorism. There are three ways to fight this menace: cooperation, coordination, and collaboration. And this is not a fight of any government or a party or an agency. It has to be a whole of the government approach,” Shah told the Lok Sabha.

Replying to the debate on drug menace in the Lower House, Shah emphasised the Narendra Modi government’s zero-tolerance policy against the menace which poses a major risk for the country’s young people, asked political rivals not to politicise the issue, highlighted the government’s social welfare programmes, and declared that the Centre will not allow the country to be “destroyed by drugs”.

Taking a tough stand against those who oppose enhanced power to federal agencies, Shah said it amounted to support for drug traffickers.

He said that the government was clear that the addicts were drug victims to be rehabilitated and brought back into the mainstream, but drug traffickers could not be spared. “We have mapped the entire route of drug smuggling across 472 districts. No matter how big the criminal is, in the next two years there will be a situation that they will be behind bars,” Shah added.

“The government is driven by determination. If the government has decided to make India free of drugs, we will make it happen.”

The home minister also presented comparative data that showed in last eight years, enforcement agencies seized 6.2 million kg of drugs, 240 million units of drugs and ₹97,000 crore worth drugs, up from 2.2 million kg, 100 million units and Rs.33,000 crore in the previous eight years (when the United Progressive Alliance was in power), respectively.

Shah added that 414,000 narcotics-related cases were registered in last eight years compared to 145,000 cases in the previous eight years. “The number of arrests too, has shot up by 220% during the Modi government. The number of arrests for the last years stood at 523,234 which was 162,908 for the period of eight years before it,” the minister said.

He also made a clear distinction between drug users and suppliers and said, “Our policy considers those consuming drugs as victims. We will take a sensitive approach give them a conducive atmosphere for rehabilitation. But drug traffickers will not be spared.”

He defended the additional powers given to federal agencies, including that of arresting people. “Some people are of the view that this move is an encroachment upon the jurisdiction of the state governments. But they are the ones who otherwise blame the Centre for not being able to prevent the inflow of drugs through the border, which is a primary responsibility of the Centre. If the agencies deployed at the border are not empowered to deal with these cases then how will they work?”

But Shah underlined that more work was to be done at the state-level. He said that, since 2019, the government has set four levels of Narco Coordination Center (NCORD) spanning from the Centre to the districts. “Recently, we had the 5th meeting of NCORD. Nearly 100% states have formed state level NCORDs. But district level NCORDs play a key role. As long as the district commissioner and superintendent of police of a district doesn’t sit together with social welfare officers and others to create a framework at the local level, we can’t fight this war effectively. 32% of districts have set it up. The day all districts are covered, the country will benefit,” he added.

Some Congress and Trinamool Congress members tried to hit back and pointed out major drug hauls in Gujarat. In his reply, Shah countered them and quipped, “It only shows the states are making maximum effort to curb the drug trade. If non-recovery of drugs in a state is used to mark it as a drug-free state then Punjab will have to be seen as a drug-free state.”

Shah also appealed to rival political parties not to behave like an ostrich that buries its head in the sand when in danger just to make itself believe it is safe.

“Terminologies like golden triangle used to refer to the countries in south-east Asia and golden crescent used to refer to countries like Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. These sources of drugs can be golden for drug traders, but they bring death to India. We losing generations of young people because of them,” he said. “That is why there is nothing golden in them. I refer to them as the death crescent and the death triangle.”

The minister spoke about how agencies are using drones and other technologies and thanked the chief minister of Manipur N Biren Singh for facilitating a pilot project to trace the cultivation of illegal herbs with the help of software. “New strategies with the help of technology are also being devised to curb crypto, dark net, and use of hawala. If anyone thinks that it is possible to hoodwink the agencies then they are soon going to be proven wrong,” he said.

He also said that people who opposed empowering security agencies such as BSF, Seema Suraksha Bal, and Assam Rifles to take on narcotics-related cases are in “reality supporting drug traders”.

“Hacathons have been done to ban dark net and crypto. We have created five modules to train people how to build up a case, electronic data analysis and rehabilitation. We are preparing to ensure chances of bail for accused is minimum. This is Modi government and people who don’t follow rules, who will not be spared. Money flow to states will be monitored closely. But people who want to change demography and use FCRA, they will face the law,” he added, referring to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act.

“In this movement, the government is also going to take the help of NGOs. These are the kind of NGOs that are committed to making the Indian society stronger,” he said. “There are NGOs that avail foreign funds to change India’s demography. They have problems with the FCRA laws. They should now know that their golden run is now over. In PM Narendra Modi’s rule, they can no longer do what they did earlier,” he said.

Shah highlighted the government’s success in giving cooking gas connections, drinking water and power connection to the needy and said, “This government takes its efforts to its logical end. We have delivered Bijli (power), gas, nal se jal (running water). We have decided the country will not be destroyed by drugs.”