Amit Shah makes drugs central to BJP's 2027 Punjab polls campaign, promises 'drug-free state' by Dec 2029

Neeraj Bali

Chandigarh, Sept 30 (UNI) union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday put Punjab's drug problem at the centre of the Bharatiya Janata Party's campaign for the 2027 assembly election, promising to make the state drug-free by December 31, 2029 if the BJP is voted to power and accusing Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's Aam Aadmi Party government of failing to curb narcotics.

He made the pledge while urging voters to support the BJP as he addressed a rally in Jalandhar marking the culmination of the BJP's 13-day "Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra". The campaign, which began on September 18, covered around 4,000 km across all 117 Assembly constituencies. "I am leaving after making a promise to the youth of Punjab vote for the BJP, press the lotus button, and we will make Punjab drug-free before December 31, 2029," Shah told the gathering.

Addressing mothers whose families have been affected by drugs, Shah said the BJP would pursue narcotics traffickers and send them to jail. "I have come to tell the mothers of Punjab that by December 31, 2029, there will be no one left to supply 'chitta' to your children," he said. "Those selling chitta will be identified and put behind bars." "Chitta" is a term commonly used in Punjab for heroin and other synthetic narcotics. The anti-drug campaign has emerged as a major BJP political plank ahead of the 2027 Punjab election.

Before Wednesday's rally, the party had also brought forward families who said they had lost relatives to drug addiction. Shah accused the Mann government of allowing the drug trade to expand, an allegation the ruling AAP has rejected. AAP leaders have maintained that the state government has taken extensive action against drugs and have questioned the BJP-led central government over narcotics entering Punjab from outside the state.

"I want to tell Bhagwant Mann that even if you had done nothing else but made Punjab drug-free, the people would have forgiven you," Shah said. "But you have increased the drug trade." He also invoked the Delhi excise-policy case while targeting the AAP, asking: "Can those who were caught in the case involving the sale of liquor in Delhi make Punjab drug-free?" The remark was part of his political attack on the party. Several AAP leaders have faced investigation and prosecution in the Delhi excise-policy case.

The AAP has denied any wrongdoing and maintained that the cases against its leaders are politically motivated. Shah said Punjab could not achieve its development potential unless its young people were freed from drug addiction. "Punjab's development cannot happen until Punjab's youth are free from chitta," he said. Shah also attacked the AAP government over employment, healthcare, medical colleges, mining revenue and agricultural promises, and questioned its expenditure on publicity.

He alleged that Rs 785 crore has been spent by the punjab government in annual advertising spending and asked Mann to account for promises made before coming to power. Turning to Punjab's history, Shah praised the contribution of the state's soldiers and its people to India's independence and national defence. "Whenever the security of the country is at stake, Punjab's soldier is among the first prepared to sacrifice his life," he said. Before the rally, Shah visited the Shri Devi Talab Mandir in Jalandhar.

His rally concluded the BJP's four-pronged anti-drug campaign, whose routes began from Madhopur, Fatehgarh Sahib, Fazilka and Talwandi Sabo and converged in Jalandhar. Security around the event was tightened after an email threat was reported ahead of the rally. According to the information provided by police, the email, received at 7:07 a.m., claimed an improvised explosive device had been planted beneath the rally stage and also contained threats against schools, the Devi Talab temple and buses.

Security agencies searched the area and no explosive device was found, according to the police account. The threat and its origin remained under investigation. Shah had earlier said Punjab was facing a serious drug problem because of what he described as the AAP government's poor governance. The Jalandhar rally effectively signalled that narcotics would be one of the BJP's principal campaign issues as Punjab moves towards the 2027 assembly election, with Shah linking the party's electoral appeal directly to its pledge to tackle the drug trade.

UNI NB AAB