Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday promised to make Punjab drug-free by December 31, 2029, if the BJP is voted to power in the assembly elections next year, while launching a sharp attack on the Aam Aadmi Party government and its leadership.
Addressing a public rally in Jalandhar as part of the BJP's Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra, Shah said the party would make the fight against drugs the central issue of its campaign for the upcoming Punjab Assembly election.
"The AAP government allowed the trade of synthetic drugs to flourish openly," Shah alleged. He said Punjab faces several issues, including those concerning farmers, industry, law and order and women's safety, but asserted that the BJP would contest the election primarily on the promise of making the state drug-free.
"If you vote for the lotus symbol, we will rid Punjab of the synthetic drug trade by December 31, 2029," Shah said.
Referring to the BJP's Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra, Shah said the campaign had been launched from Pathankot and covered around 4,000 kilometres, visiting all 117 Assembly constituencies over 13 days before concluding in Jalandhar.
Taking a swipe at AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal and other party leaders, Shah said he knew what the "Kejriwal and company" would say in response to the BJP's promise.
"We have always delivered on our promises," he said, crediting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government with what he described as major successes in tackling terrorism, Naxalism and insurgency.
"Under PM Modi's leadership, the BJP freed Kashmir from terrorism, ended the 50-year-old Naxal problem and eliminated insurgency in the North East. Now, it is time for a Punjab free from synthetic drugs," Shah said.
Attack on Bhagwant Mann
Shah also criticised Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann without naming him directly, saying that a person who consumes intoxicants and "insults the Gurus" cannot free Punjab from drugs.
"Someone who gets intoxicated and insults the Gurus cannot free Punjab from the scourge of drugs. It cannot liberate Punjab. Only the BJP is capable of freeing Punjab from drugs," he said.
The Home Minister also cited drug seizures under successive governments to highlight the BJP's claim of having taken stronger action against narcotics.
According to figures cited by Shah, the Congress-led government seized 26 lakh kilograms of narcotics across the country between 2004 and 2014. He claimed that the Modi government seized around 1.2 crore kilograms of drugs between 2014 and 2024.
Shah further claimed that drugs worth around Rs 40,000 crore were seized during the Congress-led period, while narcotics worth approximately Rs 1.90 lakh crore were seized under the BJP-led government.
The BJP has been positioning its anti-drug campaign as a key issue in Punjab in the fight against the AAP government in the assembly elections in early 2027.