No government could eradicate the drug menace from Punjab, but Akali Dal Waris Punjab De can, party leader Manpreet Singh Ayali said on Saturday.

Ayali said that the Aam Aadmi Party government’s anti-drug campaign ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’ has “completely failed” and the problem has only multiplied under its watch.

He also took on the BJP, saying its ‘Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra’ has been a “complete flop”, and accused the Centre of failing to rein in cross-border smuggling.

“Recently in Jalandhar, the Union home minister spoke about wiping out the drug menace from Punjab. But the BJP has been in power for 12 years. Border security is its responsibility,” Ayali told reporters at a party event here.

At the same forum, Punjabi lyricist Gurwinder Singh Gill, popularly known as Gill Raunta, joined the Akali Dal Waris Punjab De.

Party leaders Tarsem Singh, Dakha MLA Ayali and Faridkot MP Sarabjit Singh Khalsa welcomed Gill Raunta into the fold.

Akali Dal Waris Punjab De also inaugurated its regional unit office in Mohali.

The party’s working president, Tarsem Singh, said that the Sikh community and the state of Punjab are looking at the regional party with renewed hope.

In his address, Tarsem Singh noted that a vast majority of Punjab’s young population aligns with Waris Punjab De.