Uses money to win elections: PM jabs Congress over Delhi drug bust

Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticised the Congress over a Rs 5,000-crore drug bust in Delhi, accusing the party of pushing youth toward drugs to fund elections.

In Short

• PM Modi said Congress wants to push youth towards drug use
• He said main accused in Delhi drug bust is a Congress leader
• 5 people arrested in connection with the case

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a dig at the Congress over the Rs 5,000-crore drug bust in Delhi, saying that the party wants to push the youth of the country towards drug use and utilise that money to win elections.

On October 2, the Delhi Police seized over 560 kilograms of cocaine and 40 kilograms of hydroponic marijuana estimated to be worth around Rs 5,620 crore from a godown in south Delhi's Mahipalpur.

"Drugs worth thousands of crores have been recovered in Delhi. The main accused in this drug racket is a Congress leader. Congress wants to push the youth towards drugs and use that money to contest and win elections", PM Modi said while addressing a gathering in Maharashtra.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah also reacted to the incident on Friday and claimed that while the Modi government is committed to a "zero tolerance" policy on drugs and is working to guide the youth towards education, sports, and innovation, Congress is allegedly using its political influence to enable drug trafficking.

While five people have been arrested in connection with the case, Tushar Goyal has been identified as the main accused who reportedly has connections with the Congress.

Congress has denied any link with Tushar Goyal. However, a row broke out after Goyal reportedly admitted during questioning that he previously served as the chairman of the RTI cell for Delhi Pradesh Congress until 2022.

Investigators also discovered that Goyal had a social media profile where he listed his title as RTI Cell Chairman, Delhi Pradesh Congress.

Goyal, who used the alias "Dikki Goyal" on social media, posted photos with several prominent Congress leaders, including Lok Sabha MP Deepender Singh Hooda and Haryana unit chief Uday Bhan.

Through an X post, Congress claimed that Tushar Goyal was removed from the Delhi Pradesh Youth Congress RTI department in October 2022 due to anti-party activities. The party added that he hasn't had any association with the party since then.

According to police, the cocaine was smuggled into Delhi by road from various states while the marijuana originated from Phuket, Thailand. Police added that all the four accused were planning to sell a large quantity of drugs at concerts, rave parties and upscale localities in Delhi and other metropolitan cities.