Will quit politics if proven wrong: Navjot Singh Sidhu alleges drugs sale in Punjab jails

Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu, on Saturday, claimed that drugs are being sold inside prisons in Punjab. Targeting CM Bhagwant Mann, Sidhu said that the former took no action to improve the situation as the Jail Minister.

In order to back his claim of drug sale in prisons, Sidhu said that he will quit politics if proven wrong.

"Law and order, drug mafia, jail. The High Court asked for a policy within a week. CM Bhagwant Mann is the Jail Minister. What did he do? Drug tablets are being sold inside the jails. If I am proved a liar, I will quit politics," the Congress leader said at a press conference in Bathinda.

#WATCH | Bathinda, Punjab: Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu says, "Law and order, drug mafia, jail. The High Court asked for a policy within a week. CM Bhagwant Mann is the Jail Minister. What did he do?... Drug tablets are being sold inside the jails... If I am proved a liar,… pic.twitter.com/PD0VM9ke4X

— ANI (@ANI) December 16, 2023

Sidhu himself spent 10 months in Patiala jail after he was sentenced by the Supreme Court in a road rage case. The case dates back to 1988 when Sidhu and his friend Rupinder Singh Sandhu allegedly assaulted 65-year-old Gurnam Singh. He was sentenced to one year of rigorous imprisonment but was released early for his 'good behaviour.'

As for Punjab's drug problem, it has always been an Achilles Heel for the state and it has gripped mainly the young population. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), every third individual in Punjab is hooked to drugs other than alcohol and tobacco. 

Heroin and IV drug abuse is also highly prevalent among the young population. The NIH, via its study, also observed that the drug abuse is most common among the age group of 26-35 years.

Sidhu's claim suggest that the drug problem has penetrated the jail cells as well, where narcotics abuse might be going on unchecked.