Chandigarh, Oct 25 : Expressing concern over an alleged incident in which a former woman athlete, who fell into the grip of addiction, sold her own son for just Rs 1.80 lakh, Punjab BJP's working President Ashwani Sharma slammed the Aam Aadmi Party government over the incident, saying this reflected the government's greatest failure.

BJP leader Sharma said the state's anti-drug campaign has remained confined only to papers and photo opportunities.

He said the woman athlete had become addicted to drugs, and due to financial distress, she took this horrifying step.

'About two and a half months later, when she realised her mistake, her maternal instincts resurfaced, and she applied to the Bareta Police Station to get her son back, leading to the exposure of the case.'

The BJP legislator said the drug trade has now spread to every village and town, yet the government's policies are trapped in advertisements and false claims.

Joining the issue, Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa accused Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann of wilfully ignoring the drug menace that is ravaging Punjab and leaving an indelible stain on its history.

Congress lawmaker Bajwa highlighted that in a gut-wrenching incident that exposes the horrifying depths of Punjab's drug crisis, a drug-addict couple from Mansa district sold their five-month-old son to a family in Budhlada for Rs 1.8 lakh -- just to fund their addiction.

'A five-month-old baby was sold like an object. An innocent life was reduced to a transaction because drugs have eaten away the soul of our society,' said Bajwa in a statement.

He said the mother was once a state-level wrestler. She and her husband, both enslaved by drugs, sold their baby to keep their next high going.

'This is not fiction. This is the reality of Punjab in 2025,' he added.

/IANS