Punjab polls: Parties clash over drug menace as election campaign gains momentum
With the Punjab assembly polls just a few months away, the issue of drug menace has taken a centre stage in political discourse with opposition parties mounting a sustained attack on the AAP government for allegedly failing to wipe out the scourge.
The Bhagwant Mann dispensation, however, highlighted its anti-drug drive 'Yudh Nashian Virudh', claiming that it resulted into nearly 80,000 arrests of drug smugglers and heavy recovery of narcotics while hitting back at the rival parties for trying to "defame" Punjab for "narrow political gains".
It is not the first time that the issue of drug scourge came up before the assembly polls.
The drug menace has been among one of the major issues being taken up by the opposition parties for over a decade to target the government of the day despite the successive governments promised to rid the state of the scourge.
Ahead of the 2027 polls, opposition parties have once again sought to bring the issue to the forefront, citing videos and pictures circulating on social media of addicts and alleged drug overdose deaths to underline the severity of the crisis.
The rival political outfits have been trying to corner the Bhagwant Mann government over the drug menace, accusing it of having "completely failed" to curb it.
Punjab assembly polls are due early next year.
The BJP has made the drug menace a central plank of its campaign, rolling out its 13-day 'Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra', which covered 4,000 km by travelling through 117 assembly constituencies.
The BJP's senior leadership, which is eying to contest all 117 assembly seats on its own, also interacted with the drug-affected families during the yatra, many of whom spoke about their sons and husbands to 'chitta', a term commonly used for synthetic drugs.
Many families claimed that 'chitta' was openly available in their areas and sought immediate steps to check its sale.
The political significance attached to the campaign was underlined by its launch by BJP national president Nitin Nabin in Pathankot on September 18 and its culmination at a rally addressed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Jalandhar on September 30.
Claiming that Punjab was grappling with a serious drug problem due to the "poor governance" of the AAP government, Home Minister Shah vowed that his party would make Punjab free from 'chitta' by December 31, 2029 if voted to power in the 2027 state assembly polls.
He had also said that the BJP will fight the upcoming assembly election solely on the issue of 'Nasha Mukt Punjab' (drug-free Punjab).
Responding to the BJP's anti-drug yatra, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann accused it of "defaming" Punjab over the drug menace, besides asking it to check drug supplies in Gujarat and other BJP-ruled states.
Taking a dig at the Akali Dal, the Congress and other opposition parties, Mann said that those who "patronized" criminal elements in the past had no moral authority to question the government's crackdown.
At the same time, he lauded the police for checking drug supplies and maintaining law and order.
He also announced 10,000 new recruitments in the police to root out drugs, saying that the state is fighting the final and decisive 'Yudh Nashian Virudh'.
Under this drive, police registered over 60,000 FIRs and arrested nearly 80,000 drug smugglers. Police recovered over 3,800 kg of heroin, besides opium, poppy husk and ganja, said police.
The Congress has questioned both the Centre and the AAP government over the drug menace issue, arguing that the drug problem should not be reduced to a political blame game.
Congress MP from Gurdaspur Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said the drug problem in Punjab was a serious issue and asserted that instead of politicising it, the Centre and the Punjab government should work together and take concrete steps to tackle it.
He said he had written several letters to Union Home Minister Amit Shah raising issues related to drugs, gangsterism, cross-border drone activity and smuggling of weapons, but alleged that no concrete response or action had followed.
Congress leader Vijay Inder Singla called for stronger border security, decisive action against major trafficking networks, time-bound investigations and comprehensive rehabilitation for those battling addiction.
Shiromani Akali Dal leader and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal launched 'Maawan 'Dheeyan Insaaf Yatra', saying mothers and daughters of Punjab have now united to fight the menace of drugs and get rid of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which "failed" to protect their children from this scourge.
Did you ever see youth lying dead on road sides with drug needles by their sides," asked Badal while recently addressing a gathering in Moga.
Once elected we will bring in a law denying drug traffickers bail for ten years and ensuring life imprisonments for them. Those patronizing them will also be arrested and put into jail", she further said.
Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh-led Akali Dal Waris Punjab De too claimed that it could only eradicate drug menace from Punjab, saying no government had been able to eradicate the drug menace from the state.
Waris Punjab De leader Manpreet Singh Ayali said different governments had promised to eradicate drugs, but the situation on the ground remained extremely bad.
"Drugs have today become the biggest question concerning our youth and our future. So many governments have come, and every time slogans were raised ' 'we will eradicate drugs, we will make Punjab drug-free'' but even today the question remains the same: when will our youth come out of the quagmire of drugs?" he asked.
It was out of this pain and concern that MP Amritpal Singh launched the "Khalsa Vaheer" (a traditional religious procession) to steer young people away from drugs and reconnect them with the right path, he said.
Through this campaign, young people were encouraged to stay away from drugs, connect with 'Gurbani' and 'Sikhi' and give a new direction to their lives.
