Uncle took opium and lived long life: Navjot Sidhu supports legalisation of opium

Former cricketer and Congress MLA in the Punjab state Navjot Singh Sidhu came out in full support of the suspended Patiala MP Dharamvir Gandhi in his claims that the cultivation of poppy and opium should be legalised.

Dharamvir, am Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader from the region of Patiala has long been pitching for the legalization of the cultivation of opium and poppy. “Dharamvir Gandhi is doing a very good thing, I support him,” Sidhu told news agency ANI on Monday also adding that his uncle “took opium and lived a long life”.

“My uncle used to get opium as medicine from the hospital. He lived a long life,” said the cricketer-turned-politician.

Sidhu’s comments were, however, was used as a trigger by Daljit Singh Cheema of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), who launched an attack on the Congress government and said that it was not a simple statement but an admission by a cabinet minister, who believes that the state government cannot solve the problem of drugs in the state.

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“They had promised that they will finish the problem of drugs in four weeks of coming to power. They have admitted that they failed to control the drug problem even after two years. Now they are floating the new theory to divert public attention,” Cheema told the news agency.

The 54-year-old Sidhu, however, found support from Punjab State Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, who called for a national drug policy to save the younger generation. He needed that the Centre needed a formulate plan to check the drug abuse in the country.

The national policy could also address the need for cultivation of drugs needed for the pharmaceutical industry, he added, reports the agency, also mentioning that the states and experts should be kept in the loop when formulating such a policy.

“States like Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan were growing opium. They found a lucrative market in Punjab. One state growing drugs, especially opium, and another not doing …leading to an unacceptable situation in the country,” said Captain Singh.

He also stated that this is not the first time he has brought the issue to the fore but also addressed it during his previous tenure as a Chief Minister in 2007.

Earlier in July, Punjab CM Amarinder Singh had ordered a mandatory dope test for all government employees, as part of its initiative to eliminate drug menace from Punjab.