Thiruvananthapuram/Kochi, March 1: The ruling CPI(M)-led LDF in Kerala and the Congress-led UDF opposition on Saturday acknowledged that violence was on the rise in the state and said drugs have a major role in it.
However, while state Excise Minister M B Rajesh claimed that the government and its agencies were carrying out effective interventions and enforcement to curb the drug menace, his contentions were rejected by Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan who alleged that the Left administration has failed to address the spread of narcotics.
Rajesh told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram that violence was on the rise, especially among youngsters, and the tendency to resort to violent acts has reached horrific limits.
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Attributing it to drugs and some other factors, he said the issue needs to be viewed comprehensively by also taking into account the mental health problems prevailing in society.
The minister further said that there were effective interventions and enforcement of laws against use of drugs, which was evident from the over 24,000 arrests made in the state in 2024 in narcotics cases.
He also claimed that the conviction rate in such cases was 98 per cent, highest in the country, and that based on information given by the state agencies, arrests were made in other states and a huge cache of narcotics was recovered from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Rajesh said that besides the government, police and the excise department, the society, including parents, teachers and cinema, also have a role in preventing the spread and use of drugs among children.
He asked the opposition not to use these issues for political gain by blaming the government and instead work with the administration on curbing the drug menace.
The minister also urged the MPs from Kerala to press for changes, including what should be considered as a commercial quantity of drugs, in the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.
While Satheesan agreed that violence was on the rise in society, he claimed that it was due to the increase in use of drugs.
He said that the kind of violence happening in the state was not seen before.
Satheesan rejected Rajesh’s claims of effective enforcement, saying that only the consumers of drugs caught with small quantities were being arrested and prosecuted.
“No government agency is going after the source of the drugs. Only in one instance, a drug source was uncovered,” he claimed while speaking to reporters in Kochi.
He alleged that the government has “miserably failed” to curb the drug menace and Kerala was becoming a state where narcotics were easily available and drug parties were taking place everywhere.
The opposition leader claimed that this was due to the “political patronage” given by the government to those involved in criminal activities, including sale of drugs.
He said that the opposition was not trying to gain political mileage out of the issue, instead it was merely pointing to the failure of the government to address the drug problem. (PTI)
