Cabinet Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal has dismissed the allegations made by BJP leader Anil Sareen regarding drugs as completely false, fabricated, and baseless. Responding strongly to the allegations, Minister Dhaliwal said that the BJP leader deliberately lied against him.
He should withdraw his statement, or else legal action will be taken against him. He accused Sarin of making misleading claims to tarnish Dhaliwal's public image, as the facts are exactly the opposite of what was stated. Dhaliwal said he will send a legal notice to the leader within the next few days.
Dhaliwal said that on May 28, Ajnala police arrested 6-7 people from Lakhowal village in his constituency for drug use. The next day, villagers told him that two of those arrested were caught unfairly, they are drug-addicts but do not sell them.
One of those boys had returned from a rehabilitation center just a day earlier. After this, Dhaliwal himself contacted the SHO and went to the police station. He asked whether these two boys were drug users or dealers.
The SHO said he would investigate and inform the next day. Dhaliwal instructed that if they only use drugs, they should be sent to a rehabilitation center. The following day, the SHO sent both young men to the Amritsar Rehabilitation Center.
Meanwhile, FIRs were registered against those youth who were involved in drug peddling. Dhaliwal also showed the FIR copies to the media and said he had shared this incident on his social media page.
He said that BJP and Akali leaders do not understand the pain of drugs because their families have never been affected by it. But, Dhaliwal's own family has gone through this pain. His 32-year-old nephew died of a drug overdose in 2013.
Upon hearing the news, Dhaliwal returned to India from abroad and decided to stay here. Even today, his mother often cries while mentioning his name. He said that when drugs were being sold in large quantities during the Akali-BJP government, Punjab Police ADGP Shashikant had launched an anti-drug campaign, which Dhaliwal supported by organizing a large rally with him in his village.
He has always fought against drugs and terrorism. He has witnessed the severe damage caused by drugs in the surrounding areas firsthand. He said that when our National Convener Arvind Kejriwal and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann launched the “War Against Drugs” campaign, they stated clearly that action will be taken against those who sell drugs, while those who are drug addicts will be treated not as criminals but as patients requiring proper treatment.
Their goal is to eradicate drugs, which requires distinguishing between sellers and users and taking action accordingly. Dhaliwal emphasized that this is exactly what he did in this case.