Oppn stages protest in Maharashtra over drug menace, claims ministers shielding racketeer Lalit Patil

Nagpur: Leaders from the Opposition parties staged a protest against the Maharashtra government over the drug menace in the state, and alleged that some ministers were shielding drug racketeer Lalit Patil.

Leaders from the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising the Shiv Sena (UBT), Nationalist Congress Party's Sharad Pawar faction and the Congress, gathered on the steps of the Vidhan Bhavan here and raised slogans against the government.

Leader of opposition in the legislative assembly Vijay Wadettiwar, leader of opposition in the council Ambadas Danve, MLC Satej Patil and several other legislators took part in the protest.

"The youth of Maharashtra is getting addicted to drugs, and the state is on the verge of becoming 'Udta Maharashtra' like 'Udta Punjab'," said Wadettiwar, referring to the 2016 Bollywood film about a drug crisis in the northern state.

Talking to reporters, the Congress leader alleged that some ministers were shielding drug racketeer Lalit Patil and demanded action against them.

Lalit Patil emerged as the kingpin of a drug racket that was busted by the Sakinaka police in Mumbai in a two-month-long operation, which included the seizure of mephedrone worth about Rs 300 crore and a raid at a drug manufacturing unit in Nashik.

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had last week informed the legislative assembly that the police have seized drugs worth about Rs 50,000 crore in the state in the recent past and discretely tracked 2,200 small shops (selling drugs) in Mumbai and removed them to curb the menace of drugs.