Leader of the Opposition and former Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Monday expressed concern that students and youth were getting addicted to ganja.
During the debate on the demand for grants for the Police Department in the Assembly, he urged the State government to launch an intense drive to prevent the smuggling of ganja from Andhra Pradesh into Tamil Nadu. The contraband was freely available for sale near educational institutions, he said.
According to him, the number of cases and the quantum of the contraband seized bore out the fact that ganja was being smuggled into the State in large quantities and also being exported. He wanted to know the number of charge sheets filed in 6,853 offences under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, in which 9,571 suspects were arrested and 30.45 tonnes of ganja was seized in 2021.
To this, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin replied that the increase in the number of cases and arrests and seizure only proved proactive policing in the State. It was during the AIADMK government that the gutkha scam occurred and the CBI filed cases against the then Health Minister, the then Director-General of Police and others, he said.
CCTV network
Mr. Palaniswami urged the government to ensure that the closed circuit television (CCTV) network, installed across the States to prevent and detect crimes, functioned efficiently. When the AIADMK was in power, the government laid more emphasis on the installation of the CCTV network since it would serve as an effective deterrent to criminals. In Chennai city alone, 2.5 lakh surveillance cameras were installed. More than 2. 14 lakh cameras were installed in other cities. “We ensured that faulty cameras were repaired at the earliest. But now I am given to understand that many cameras are not working. In some cases, anti-social elements were damaging the cameras. I appeal to the government to make sure that the CCTV network functioned well,” he said.
Attack on police
Mr. Palaniswami cited several instances of the police being assaulted or robbed of their mobile phones in the last one year. He wondered what would be the plight of members of the public when the police themselves were becoming victims of assault or robbery.
Policemen dying by suicide owing to work pressure was a serious issue that had to be addressed urgently. Among other demands, he called for a law to ban online rummy that was claiming innocent lives, steps to minimise fatal accidents and measures to prevent clashes among students.
Mr. Palaniswami showcased the elaborate security arrangements made during the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Tamil Nadu and the Kanchi Athi Varadar festival, in which more than 1 crore people had a glimpse of the Lord, when he was the Chief Minister.
