'Opium way better than heroin,' Navjot Singh Sidhu bats for poppy cultivation in Punjab

Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on Sunday batted for legalising the production of poppy husk for cultivation, consumption and sale of opium.

Supporting suspended AAP lead Patiala Dharamvira Gandhi who has been fighting for legalising poppy cultivation at the Congress' rally for the special status of Punjab, Sidhu said opium is 'way better than heroin', according to Hindustan Times report.

“I appreciate Gandhi for raising the demand of legalising the cultivation of opium. My uncle used to get opium as medicine from hospital. It is way better than ‘Chitta’ (heroin), which SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia introduced in the state, due to which parents have to see bodies of their children,” said Sidhu was quoted by Hindustan Times.

Gandhi in January this year had submitted a memorandum to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh for legalising the poppy cultivation.

Earlier, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had ordered a mandatory dope test on all government employees, including police personnel, from the time of their recruitment through every stage of their service.

The chief minister has directed the Chief Secretary to work out the modalities and issue the necessary notification in this regard, an official spokesperson said here.

The chief minister has ordered drug screening to be mandatorily done in all cases of recruitment and promotions, as well as the annual medical examination that certain employees are required to undergo in accordance with the nature of their duties. Dope test would be made mandatory for all recruitments as well as promotions to be made by various Punjab government departments, according to the spokesperson.

Further, a dope test would also be made a mandatory part of the Annual Medical examination of all civilian/police employees of the Punjab government, wherever prescribed, he added. The move was a part of a series of initiatives taken by the chief minister to eliminate the drug menace from Punjab.

The orders comes on a day the chief minister formally communicated his Cabinet's recommendation to the Centre, seeking amendment to the NDPS Act to provide for death penalty for first-time offenders too. Singh has already issued a strict warning to drug smugglers and peddlers to give up their nefarious activities or face stringent action. On July 2, the Punjab Cabinet had decided to recommend to the Centre death penalty for drug peddlers and smugglers. 

(With PTI inputs)