AAP defends Punjab's anti-drug campaign after Rahul Gandhi's attack on CM Bhagwant Mann

The war of words between the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has sharpened ahead of next year's Assembly election in Punjab. Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi targeted Punjab Chief Minister and AAP leader Bhagwant Mann. In response, AAP national spokesperson Advocate Reuben Mascarenhas put forward the Punjab government's side. Mascarenhas lives in Mumbai.

Launching his party's election campaign, Gandhi said AAP had not ended the drug problem in Punjab. He also said Mann used to sit next to him in the Lok Sabha and joke with him, and that he "smells of alcohol" until 11 am. According to Gandhi, Mann's drinking is his personal matter, but if the fight is against drugs, the chief minister should not be intoxicated. Gandhi also claimed that AAP is being run from Delhi. Next year the Congress will take on AAP in Punjab.

Mascarenhas said, "The Punjab government has done more than any other government to end the drug problem." Responding to Gandhi's statement, he said, "We inherited this problem because of the institutional patronage of previous Congress governments. We are a responsible government and we have done whatever it takes to end drugs."

According to Mascarenhas, "We have run the country's largest rehab programme and have quadrupled the number of patients coming into rehab. We have also started major outreach programmes for young people, so that the stigma ends and rehab is seen as a solution." Citing figures, he said, "We have raised the conviction rate under the NDPS Act from 40 per cent in the previous government's time to 91 per cent."

AAP did not applaud Gandhi's "smells of alcohol" remark but hit back. Mascarenhas said, "The Congress is in disarray in Delhi. Punjab's leadership and governance are in the hands of Punjab's Sardar Bhagwant Singh Mann. Rahul is not a serious leader, and because of him BJP has formed the government in the country for a third time. He has no experience of administration, and no Congress state government has fulfilled the promises he made. When the country is on the streets, he prefers holidays."

Gandhi started the verbal contest, and AAP responded with its own "Mann (Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann) ki Baat".