Chandigarh/Bathinda, February 11
The Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab came to power with the promise of making Punjab drug-free within one month. However, in the last four years, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has already given six deadlines to eliminate drugs, but the reality is that the drug situation in Punjab has become worse than before. Drugs are being sold openly in every village, city, and even inside jails. The ground reality is that youth are dying daily due to drugs, boards saying “Chitta available here” are being put up, and drugs are being home-delivered. This was stated by Punjab Bharatiya Janata Party Working State President Ashwani Sharma, who while addressing a press conference in Bathinda today, targeted the Punjab Government over remarks made by AAP leaders on the Governor’s anti-drug foot march.
“During Mann’s 46-month rule, data of around 1,600 youth deaths is available with us, but the total number of deaths due to drugs is between 15,000 and 16,000. Many families do not report such deaths due to social stigma, and police also often try to avoid registering FIRs. Therefore, only about one-tenth of the actual cases come to light’, said Sharma.
Sharma further said that the seriousness of Mann towards the crucial issue of drug can be gauged from the fact that during his tenure as Chief Minister, four International Anti-Drug Days (June 26 of 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025) had passed but not even a single major state-level anti-drug program was organized. Neither did the Chief Minister address the public live from his residence, nor was any advertisement released. It appears as if the entire Aam Aadmi Party has gone silent on the issue.
Sharma said the drug problem in Punjab has become so severe that not only young men but also children aged 10–12, girls and even pregnant women are falling prey to it. “Drug addicts are killing their own family members for drugs and even cases of killing infants have surfaced. Entire families have been destroyed due to drugs, and houses have been locked. In one case, a mother lost six sons to drugs. Why is this “Udta Punjab” not visible to Mann”, questioned Sharma.
Sharma said drugs are available so openly that boards saying “Chitta available here” are being put up. Like liquor vend enclosures, now “chitta points” have emerged. Chitta is being home-delivered, and like ration queues, people are now standing in lines to buy chitta. “The morale of drug smugglers is so high that they not only attack those who oppose drugs but also fire at their houses and kill their family members. In many cases, smugglers are not afraid of attacking or even killing police personnel”, he added.
Sharma said that when Bhagwant Mann and Arvind Kejriwal were not in power in Punjab, they often alleged that people in power (earlier Akali Dal, then Congress) enabled drug trade. “If the same formula is applied today, then Aam Aadmi Party leaders, Ministers, MLAs and the Chief Minister are now enabling drug trade, due to which smugglers are fearlessly spreading death across Punjab”, concluded Sharma.
