Gujarat: Ahead of polls, drugs and alcohol takes center stage

As political parties are preparing to fight the upcoming Assembly polls in the state, increasing alcohol and drug utilisation has become a major issue. The Gujarat Congress staged a dharna on Tuesday on the issue of the liquor ban.

The recent calamity, where 50 people died and many fell sick after consuming liquor, led to embarrassment to Gujarat’s leadership. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal latched on to the issue in his previous two public addresses in the state.

“People of Gujarat have two options — they will get spurious liquor if they vote for them (BJP) or they will get employment if they vote for us,” he said on Monday. He also visited the kin of the victims of the hooch tragedy and gained compensation for them. 

Several Congress leaders have started to attack BJP for illicit trade. Recently, Rahul Gandhi posted the social media figures of three drug retrieval allegedly priced around Rs 22,000 crore at Mundra port since September 2021 and questioned the law and order situation in Gujarat.

Due to the opposition attacks and public anger over the situation, BJP has gotten into a damage control mode. Its state spokesperson Yamal Vyas said, “Gujarat ATS is doing a good job. Along with the Coast Guard, they have filed over 400 cases under the NDPS Act in six months. When Gujarat Police is doing such good work, what is the problem of Congress?”