Chandigarh: The BJP national leadership on Friday took on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab over recent deaths of residents opposing drug peddling with Union home minister Amit Shah announcing that the ministry of home affairs will seek a formal explanation from chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s administration, while party president Nitin Nabin attacked the AAP for “serious failure of governance”.
Pointing to Thursday’s killing of a Batala villager, Bikramjit Singh, 40, for confronting drug peddlers; the broad daylight murder of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota in Mansa on October 13; and the suicide of a 50-year-old father in Dirba last month after facing harassment for publicly confronting finance minister Harpal Cheema over rampant heroin sale and his son’s addiction, Shah said the incidents raise serious questions about Punjab’s law and order situation, particularly regarding the state’s growing drug trade, gangsterism, and organised crime.
“The home ministry will seek responses from the Punjab government on both these incidents,” the home minister posted on X, questioning who within chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s administration would take ultimate responsibility for public safety.
Shah’s remarks follow allegations by Jhota’s father implicating the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and its local MLA in his son’s killing. Jhota was known for campaigning against drug abuse in the region.
Criticising the state leadership, Shah said the people of Punjab expect decisive action and results rather than announcements. He called for a crackdown on drug networks and an impartial investigation into alleged political patronage of criminals.
Shah added that if the BJP comes to power in Punjab, its priority will be creating a drug-free and gangster-free state by targeting illicit drug syndicates and enforcing the rule of law.
Nabin echoed Shah’s concerns, saying: “What has Punjab come to when leading voices in society fighting against drugs must fear for their lives? Punjab needs decisive action against the drug mafia and safety for its citizens. The people of Punjab deserve accountability.”
The MHA intervention follows the BJP’s 13-day, 4,000-km ‘Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra’, which spanned all 117 assembly constituencies and culminated in Shah’s rally in Jalandhar on September 30. Framing anti-drug action as the party’s central poll plank, Shah pledged to eliminate the state’s drug trade by December 31, 2029, if the BJP forms the government.
Assistant Editor with the Punjab Bureau of Hindustan Times, based in Chandigarh. With nearly two decades of experience in journalism, I report on politics, governance, national security, law enforcement, elections, health and public policy, with a special focus on Punjab.Over the years, I have covered major political developments, policing, organised crime, anti-drug operations, and legislative affairs, delivering several exclusive and investigative reports. Having experience of covering Punjab with permanent postings at Bathinda, Patiala, Ludhiana and Jalandhar in various capacities before moving to Punjab Bureau in 2017. Headed Doaba Bureau for three years at Jalandhar.Before joining the Hindustan Times in Punjab worked as a stringer in journalist in Himachal Pradesh, building extensive experience in grassroots reporting. Hold postgraduate degrees in Journalism and Mass Communication from Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla.Read More