Chandigarh, September 30, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha Partap Singh Bajwa on Wednesday said the state’s drug crisis cannot be addressed through political yatras, rallies and slogans, and called on both the BJP-led Centre and the AAP-led Punjab government to answer for their respective responsibilities in tackling the narcotics supply chain.
Bajwa’s remarks came in response to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to Punjab for the culmination of the BJP’s 13-day ‘Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra’, which covered all 117 Assembly constituencies and concluded in Jalandhar.
Bajwa questioned the measurable impact of the Centre’s decision in 2021 to expand the Border Security Force’s operational jurisdiction in Punjab from 15 km to 50 km.
“The Centre expanded the BSF’s jurisdiction to 50 km citing the need for stronger border security. Punjab has since witnessed continued reports of cross-border drug smuggling, including the use of drones. What has the Centre achieved with this additional jurisdiction? How many major trafficking networks have actually been dismantled?” he asked.
The Congress leader also sought answers on the wider Punjab-Pakistan border security challenge, including the number of drones carrying narcotics and weapons intercepted and the action taken against alleged cross-border handlers, financiers and trafficking networks.
“How many drones carrying narcotics and weapons have been intercepted? How many cross-border handlers, financiers and networks have been identified and prosecuted? If the border is the first line of defence against narcotics entering Punjab, the Union government must accept responsibility for securing that first line of defence,” Bajwa said.
He also asked the Centre to explain what action had been taken against trafficking networks operating through other states, ports and financial channels.
“Punjab cannot be treated merely as the destination of a supply chain whose origins and financial networks extend far beyond the state,” he said.
Bajwa further raised the issue of gangsters allegedly operating criminal and extortion networks from prisons outside Punjab.
“Gangsters lodged in jails in BJP-ruled states cannot be allowed to threaten, extort and terrorise Punjabis through networks operating outside prison. The Centre and state governments concerned must explain what action is being taken to stop this,” he said.
At the same time, Bajwa said the AAP government could not avoid responsibility by blaming the Centre. He pointed to policing, local intelligence, action against drug peddlers, rehabilitation and protection of vulnerable communities as key responsibilities of the Punjab government.
“The BJP cannot wash its hands of the drug crisis by blaming AAP, and AAP cannot wash its hands by blaming the Centre. Punjab needs results, not rallies and slogans,” he said.
Bajwa also asked Amit Shah and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to explain who was bringing drugs into Punjab, who was financing the networks, who was protecting them and why the entire supply chain had not yet been dismantled.
The BJP’s anti-drug campaign has emerged as a major political issue ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections. Shah, while addressing the concluding rally in Jalandhar, subsequently made a commitment to eradicate the trade in synthetic drugs in Punjab by December 31, 2029 if the BJP comes to power in the state.
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