Shah pitches drug-free Punjab as poll promise
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday set December 31, 2029, as the BJP’s deadline to make Punjab free of drug trade, declaring that the party would fight the 2027 Assembly elections primarily on the issue of “nasha mukt (drug-free) Punjab”. Attacking the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP Government over drugs, unfulfilled promises, alleged corruption and poor law and order, Shah said not even “one gram” of chitta (heroin) would be allowed to be sold in Punjab or transported out of the State if the BJP formed the Government.
“I promise the women and youth of Punjab that after December 31, 2029, there will be no one left supplying chitta in Punjab,” he said, adding that those involved in the drug trade would be “picked out and sent to jail”. He argued that Punjab could not develop until its youth were freed from drugs.
Shah was addressing a massive rally at Paragpur on the outskirts of Jalandhar to mark the culmination of the BJP’s 13-day Nasha Mukt Punjab rally. Punjab is expected to go to polls in February 2027.
Citing Union-level enforcement figures, he said around 26 lakh kg of heroin worth about Rs 40,000 crore was seized during 2004-2014, while around 1.20 crore kg valued at approximately Rs 1.90 lakh crore was seized between 2014 and 2024.
The BJP, he said, would also work to make Punjab one of the country’s top five industrial states, while addressing farmers’ problems and providing employment opportunities to the youth.
Shah also launched an attack on the AAP Government in the State, alleging that it had allowed the drug trade to grow instead of eliminating it. Referring directly to Chief Minister Mann, he asked why the State had not taken stronger action under the PIT-NDPS law and why Punjab had not participated in N-CORD meetings for the past two years.
He claimed that 5,000 drug traffickers had been sent to jail under the PIT-NDPS law across the country in the previous year, while, according to his figures, Punjab had not secured a single conviction under the law. He also alleged that the State Government had rejected the Centre’s proposal to open an NCB office in Jalandhar.
The Jalandhar rally marked the culmination of four BJP drug-awareness yatras that collectively covered all 117 Assembly constituencies and travelled nearly 4,000 km. The campaign was launched from Madhopur on September 18 and concluded in Jalandhar after 13 days.
Before reaching the rally, Shah visited Shri Devi Talab Temple and paid obeisance. He also spent around 40 minutes meeting families affected by drugs, including mothers who had lost their children, before taking the stage. Several senior BJP leaders, including Punjab BJP leaders and MPs, former Union ministers, and party workers from across the state, attended the rally.
The rally was also marked by the deaths of two BJP workers, with party Punjab president Kewal Singh Dhillon announcing the deaths from the stage and paying tribute to them as “martyrs”. One worker, identified as Arshdeep Singh, suffered a heart attack around 1.23 pm while undergoing entry checks and was rushed to a private hospital after security personnel administered CPR and first aid. He died during treatment. The second worker, Vinod Kumar, also died during the rally. Police said the circumstances and causes of both deaths were being investigated.
526 Kg drugs seized, five Held
New Delhi: The Indian Coast Guard and Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) have seized 526 kg of methamphetamine and heroin, valued at more than Rs 3,000 crore, from an Iranian boat in the Arabian Sea and detained five Pakistani nationals, officials said. The vessel, identified as Azad, was intercepted on September 25 after a 16-day operation based on intelligence inputs. It was tracked through sea-air surveillance and intercepted about 160 nautical miles northwest of Lakshadweep and 490 nautical miles southwest of Mumbai.
Gujarat ATS DIG Sunil Joshi said the consignment was allegedly smuggled from Iran and was to be transferred at sea to another boat from Tamil Nadu. It was then intended to reach Punjab, where a Nigerian handler was allegedly to receive it. The five detained crew members, all from Peshawar, were identified as Mohammad Yakub Balochi, Shakirullah, Faridullah, Ahmed Khan and Wahidullah Khan. Investigators said the drugs were allegedly linked to a transnational network run by Haji Salim. The ATS also said advance payments were allegedly routed through hawala channels and that smugglers had shifted from Gujarat’s coastline following intensified enforcement. The boat, crew and seized drugs were brought to Mumbai for interrogation and legal proceedings. An FIR has been registered, with agencies investigating the wider network and intended recipients.