It began as a disclosure of drug seizure figures but led to a combative exchange in the Gujarat assembly.
The state government reportedly told the House that police had seized narcotics worth Rs 3,727 crore over the past two years. It was around 41,000 kg of drugs across 1,646 registered cases statewide, claimed reports.
But the numbers became secondary as ruling party and opposition MLAs went at each other over drug seizures in Jamnagar and Kutch.
The exchange began when AAP MLA Hemant Ahir raised the issue of drug activity in the two districts. Minister of State for Law and Justice Kaushik Vekariya responded with figures — 135 cases registered, 306 accused, seizures worth Rs 244 crore.
The numbers, he reportedly said, were not just statistics. Behind each figure were police officers venturing out in pitch-dark nights, risking their lives to intercept consignments.
According to the report, he then referred to the National Crime Records Bureau 2023 report and told the House that Gujarat’s crime rate stood at 0.8% (561 crimes in total) which he claimed was the lowest in the country.
Then came the comparison with other states. To drive home Gujarat’s record, Vekariya pointed to two states governed by parties sitting across the aisle — Punjab, run by AAP, and Kerala, run by the Left Democratic Front.
Punjab, he said, recorded over 11,500 crimes at a rate of 37.6%. Kerala logged 30,697 crimes at a steep 85.7%. AAP MLAs protested the remarks. Vekariya said he had made no political remarks and had not even named any government. Speaker Shankar Chaudhary tried to cool things down, asking that the debate not be made political.
Ahir continued his intervention. If Gujarat Police deserved applause for its seizures, he argued, then Punjab Police deserved equal credit when drugs were caught there. He also wanted to know what action had been taken against the ships used to ferry drugs into the state.
Vekariya responded with the statewide numbers: 1,646 cases, 41,000 kg seized, Rs 3,727 crore worth of drugs. Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi stepped in with an example.
A house in Kutch from which drugs were recovered had been razed and converted into a police station — one he said he would inaugurate shortly. Gujarat Police, he added, worked from the top of the supply chain downward, going after everyone involved in the network rather than stopping at street-level arrests.
Congress MLA and state party president Amit Chavda brought a different concern to the floor. Gujarat, he said, was becoming both a landing point and a consumption hub for drugs. Cases of open ganja cultivation were also surfacing.
He asked how many of those arrested were the real masterminds behind the drug networks, and how many were just the small fish.
Also Read: Drugs Seized In Gujarat, No Trace Of Kingpins https://www.vibesofindia.com/drugs-seized-in-gujarat-no-trace-of-kingpins/
