Punjab Deputy Chief Minister, S. Sukhbir Singh Badal lambasted anti-Punjab forces out to malign fair name of a prosperous state by branding it as drug capital and said that nefarious designs of such forces would not be allowed to succeed.In a function at Hotel Lalit here late last night, Deputy Chief Minister launching a scathing attack on congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said he had no business branding 70 percent of Punjabi youth as drug addicts. Clearing the depiction, he informed that Punjab is only the transit route of drugs flowing into the state from across the international border and responsibility of stopping it rests with central security forces manning the border. He also made it clear that no drug is produced in the state and Punjab is fighting nation’s war against drugs.
Touching the development plank, he said that Punjab is far ahead of other states in terms of inclusive development and opposition, making falsified claims of Punjab being bankrupt, need to take a tour of rural areas of U.P., Bihar and even Haryana to see with their own eyes the 'real' conditions in these states vis-à-vis progress carried out in Punjab in terms of economic development, power and social sectors which remains unmatched and unprecedented in the country.He also said that he is open to criticism by opposition but the name and image of Punjab should not be maligned by opposition parties. Instead opposition needs to act like true sons of soil and present positive image of state to be showcased to outside world so as to further carry Punjab on road to massive development. Among others CPIM leaders Charan Singh Virdi, Vijay Mishra and Raghunath Singh also spoke on the occasion.