Jalandhar: Union home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday pledged that the BJP, if voted to power in Punjab, will eradicate the trade of “chitta” (synthetic drugs) from the state by December 31, 2029.
Addressing the BJP’s Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra in Jalandhar, Shah targeted the governing Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), alleging it had allowed the drug trade to thrive openly. He announced that making Punjab drug-free would be the BJP’s primary plank in the 2027 assembly elections.
“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, appealing to the state’s youth and mothers for support.
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 and Kashmir and the Northeast, alongside the wiping out of Naxalism.
Before his address, Shah paid tribute to Sikh Gurus, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Sardar Teja Singh Samundri, and freedom fighters Bhagat Singh and Udham Singh. He praised Punjab’s historic role in ensuring national food security and defending India’s borders.
On his arrival at Jalandhar in the afternoon, the home minister paid obeisance at the local Shree Devi Talab temple. Later, he met families affected by the menace of drugs.
Before addressing the rally at Paragpur, in a post in Punjabi on X, Shah said Punjab is grappling with a serious drug problem due to the AAP government’s poor governance and called the Mann dispensation an “aapda (disaster)”.
He said the people of Punjab are waging a decisive battle against drugs and uniting the state in the process. The BJP’s yatra reached every village in Punjab, raising drug awareness while also inspiring youngsters to join the campaign, he added.
Punjab BJP chief Kewal Singh Dhillon, party leaders Tarun Chugh, Sunil Jakhar, Ashwani Sharma, Vikramjit Singh Sahney, Manpreet Badal, Iqbal Singh Lalpura, Preneet Kaur, Vijay Sampla, Sandeep Pathak, Som Prakash, Manoranjan Kalia, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Ravneet Singh Bittu, Raghav Chadha, Harbhajan Singh and Ashok Mittal were present at the rally.
The yatra was launched under the slogan of “BJP da Nara, Nasha Mukauna Saara (Wipe out drugs is the slogan of the BJP)”. It travelled through all 117 assembly constituencies in Punjab, covering 4,000km and reached Jalandhar on Tuesday.
BJP national president Nitin Nabin flagged off the first of the four statewide anti-drug yatras from the Ekta Sthal in Pathankot on September 18.
Since then, several Union ministers, chief ministers of some BJP-ruled states and senior leaders of the saffron party participated in the campaign.