Ludhiana:
A minister in Punjab, which is facing drug menace, today stoked a controversy by suggesting that there should be a mandatory "dope test" for politicians contesting elections.
"All politicians should be made to undergo dope test before filing their nomination papers," Punjab Agriculture Minister Tota Singh told reporters.
The minister also said, "the dope test should be made mandatory by the Election Commission".
Mr Singh, however, said that although this was his "personal opinion", it was an "essential" step for "controlling" the drug menace.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) veteran said, "if all players, including the top one, could be made to undergo dope test before start of the match why could it not be made mandatory for political leaders".
Earlier, in his 'Mann Ki Baat' programme on radio, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said the drug menace is a "national pain".
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had earlier claimed that 70 per cent of youths in the state were into drugs.
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had earlier said that his government was fighting a "war" on drug menace in the state.