Union home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday pledged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), if voted to power in Punjab next year, will eradicate the trade of “chitta” (synthetic drugs) from the state by December 31, 2029.
At the Jalandhar rally, Shah launched a scathing attack on the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), alleging it had allowed the drug trade to thrive openly. “Can AAP make Punjab drug-free? Only the BJP can do it. “Now, it is time to make Punjab drug-free… Shah further accused the state government of failing to keep a check on the drug menace. “Not even a single drug peddler has been arrested under the state’s anti-narcotics act, while chief minister Bhagwant Mann failed to attend NCORD (Narco Coordination Centre) for the past three times. He further alleged that the AAP government failed on every front as the economic condition of the state is in a shambles. “Since the AAP came into power, there have been corruption scams, the Amritsar and Jalandhar smart city project scam, and the mid-day meal scam.
The yatra covered roughly 4,000 kilometres across the state and drew participation from several Union ministers and senior state leaders. Wednesday’s address marked Shah’s second major campaign push on the narcotics crisis within six months, following a rally in Moga on March 14 where he said that only the BJP could make Punjab drug-free. I promise Punjab’s mothers and youngsters that before December 2029, we will free Punjab from ‘chitta’ and restore the pristine glory of the state,” Shah said. Where were the 25 lakh (2.5 million) jobs as promised by the state government, the increase in widow pension to ₹ 2,500, 16 medical colleges and MSP on crops? Earlier reporting noted: Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched a sharp attack on the Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab on Wednesday, making drug menace the BJP’s central political plank for the 2027 assembly elections and promising to make the state drug-free by the last day of 2029 if the party comes to power.
Shah made the statement during a rally at Jalandar’s Kot Kalan village to mark the culmination of state BJP unit’s 13-day “Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra”, launched by party president Nitin Nabin on September 18. “While there are several issues like farming, industry, law and order, and women’s safety, the BJP will fight this election solely on the issue of a drug-free Punjab,” Shah said. Highlighting the Narendra Modi government’s track record, Shah said that the regime had delivered on its commitments ahead of set deadlines, citing the eradication of terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir and the northeastern parts of the country, alongside the wiping out of Naxalism. The BJP will ensure that not even a single gram of ‘chitta’ is smuggled into Punjab and sent out of the state,” Shah said. In fact, CM Mann disallowed permission to set up a unit of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in Punjab,” Shah claimed, adding that “those involved in liquor scam are talking about making Punjab Nasha Mukt”. Shah said. Earlier reporting noted: “Bhagwant Mann has increased the drug trade,” Shah alleged, accusing the AAP government of failing to tackle the narcotics crisis.
