Photo Source: Babushahi Bureau
“Name one BJP-ruled state that is drug-free”: Partap Bajwa questions Amit Shah’s 2029 Punjab pledge
Babushahi Bureau
Chandigarh, October 2, 2026: Punjab Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa has questioned the Centre’s responsibility in tackling the state’s drug crisis after Union Home Minister Amit Shah pledged to make Punjab drug-free by December 31, 2029, if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is voted to power in the 2027 Assembly elections.
Reacting to Shah’s announcement, Bajwa asked whether the Centre would consider itself responsible for the drug menace only after a BJP government is formed in Punjab.
“Amit Shah ji stated that if people vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party, you will eliminate the drug menace by December 31, 2029. I want to ask the Home Minister: Does this mean that until your government comes to power in Punjab, you will wash your hands of the matter and claim no responsibility?” Bajwa said.
He questioned who would be responsible for safeguarding Punjab, a border state, and disrupting the drug supply chain.
“Who is supposed to safeguard this border state? Who is to break this drug chain? Who is to arrest the ‘big crocodiles’—the kingpins of massive drug syndicates?” Bajwa asked.
Bajwa said tackling the drug trade should be a joint responsibility of the Centre and the state government, even if there were disagreements or lack of cooperation between the two.
He referred to the role of the Border Security Force (BSF) in securing the international border and raised questions over the alleged use of drones to smuggle drugs across the border.
“So many drones are coming across the border, and the BSF operates there,” he said, adding that several border districts of Punjab have been identified as highly sensitive in relation to the drug trade.
Bajwa also accused the BJP of turning the drug issue into an electoral promise and said the people of Punjab should not be asked to exchange their votes for a future commitment on drugs.
“Do not turn this into a vote-trading exercise. Do not tell Punjabis, ‘Give us your vote, and we will deliver this in return. That is not how it works,’” he said.
He further questioned the BJP’s record on tackling drugs in states where it is in power and asked the Centre to identify a BJP-ruled state that it had made drug-free.
“Which state in India, governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party, is drug-free? Name even one state that you have made drug-free,” Bajwa said.
Bajwa also referred to major drug seizures at ports and coastal locations, citing the seizure of 3,000 kg of heroin at Mundra Port and 526 kg of drugs in an operation near Lakshadweep. He questioned how the BJP could ask Punjab to wait until 2029 for the drug menace to be eliminated.
His remarks came a day after Shah, while addressing a rally in Jalandhar at the culmination of the BJP’s ‘Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra’, pledged to eliminate the trade in “chitta” from Punjab by December 31, 2029, if the BJP comes to power in the state.
Bajwa said the drug crisis could still be addressed if there was political will and effective coordination between the Centre and the state.
“If your intentions are right, everything is still possible. But in reality, your intentions are not right,” he said.