Chandigarh, Sep 11 (IANS): The Leader of Opposition in Punjab, Partap Singh Bajwa, on Monday condemned the Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab for its sheer inability to rein in the rapidly growing drug abuse in the state.

“Under the 18-month regime of AAP, Punjab has been on the verge of becoming a drug capital of the country,” Bajwa said in a statement here.

Citing a viral video of two youngsters -- a man and a woman -- injecting drugs at Bathinda's Santpura Road, Bajwa said many such videos have gone viral ever since AAP got hold of power. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has yet to get his act together to curb the drug menace.

“The CM always remains busy in one or the other showbiz and keeps squandering the Punjab’s taxpayers’ money. The youngsters have been on the edge of a slippery slope because of drug abuse. How would such events like a tourism summit rescue the future of Punjab from plunging into an abyss,” Bajwa asked.

He said in one of the most shocking incidents an anti-drug activist from Bathinda was brutally murdered by drug peddlers. Earlier this year, a Jalandhar-based whistleblower against drug peddling was killed. There have also been some incidents of Punjab Police allegedly harassing those who have been fighting against the drug trade.

“The ineffectiveness of the AAP government can be gauged from the fact that it cannot even protect the anti-drug activists who have been struggling on their own for the youth of Punjab,” Bajwa added.