Raising the issue of seizure of 532 kg of heroin at Attari check point along the International Border, a Congress member in Rajya Sabha on Thursday demanded stern action against all those involved in smuggling of drugs.
Pratap Singh Bajwa (Cong) said during Zero Hour that the central government should take the matter seriously.
The matter is being investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
One of the main accused, who was arrested on the same day of drug seizure, died in the central jail of Amritsar on July 21, Bajwa said.
"He was an important witness. He should have been kept in solitary confinement," the Congress member said.
He said Punjab has already suffered due to terrorism and international drug smuggling may also bring in weapons and resurrect terrorism.
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In the biggest-ever haul, the Customs Department had seized 532 kg of heroin, worth Rs 2,700 crore in the international market, smuggled in a truck through the trade route at the Attari border on June 30.
K Somaprasad (CPI-M) talked about the increasing use of cannabis among the youth. He said the provisions of the NDPS Act should be amended so that peddlers of cannabis should not get away from arrests.
BJP member Vinay P Sahasrabuddhe suggested that the government should set up a council for quality translation of Indian literature in global languages.
Congress member K C Ramamurthy highlighted the plight of people who lost their life earnings in ponzi schemes.
He demanded that strict and enforceable regulation should be put in place to deal with ponzi and unregulated deposits schemes.
BJP member Vijay Goel highlighted the plight of homebuyers who have been cheated by builders. He suggested that builders who defraud homebuyers should be given death sentence.
Another senior Congress member T Subbarami Reddy asked the Ministry of Home Affairs to set up a special cell to deal with the problem of missing children.
BJD member Amar Patnaik demanded that at least one railway station in easter Odisha and one in the western part of the state should be included in the railway ministry's plan to redevelop stations.