*Target to Make Punjab Drug-Free by December 31, 2029; Questions Raised Over Political Patronage to Drug Traffickers*
*Meets Families of Three People Killed for Raising Their Voices Against Drugs in Gurdaspur, Mansa and Sangrur*
*Not from Gujarat ports, but drugs entering Punjab with involvement of AAP government: Shah*
*Ludhiana, October 20:*
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday demanded accountability from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab over the growing drug menace and government’s failure in providing justice to the victim families, and asked them to transfer the cases involving the other two victims, to the CBI.
While addressing media after meeting the victim families, at Ludhiana on Tuesday, Shah reassured the people of Punjab that the state will be made drug-free by December 31, 2029, if the BJP forms the government in the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections.
"I would never forget this Dussehra, as I recall meetings with the families of three men from Gurdaspur, Sangrur and Mansa who were killed or driven to suicide for raising their voices against drug-related activities. Despite being an elected representative for nearly 30 years and having met families affected by several tragedies, I had never felt as saddened as I did today”, Shah said, adding that “Their families are not alone. Thousands of families in Punjab who want to end this drug menace, stand with them”.
“Today, Bhagwant Mann did one good thing of transferring the murder case of Mansa anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Today, I assure the family that the accused would be caught, irrespective of their connections, and justice will be provided. However, the cases involving the other two victims also be handed over to the CBI, as neither people of Punjab nor BJP have trust in AAP’s investigations”, Shah added.
*Drugs entering Punjab with involvement of AAP government: Shah*
Targeting the AAP government of failing to fulfil its promise of making Punjab drug-free within three months of coming to power, Shah said, “Drug trafficking has increased and those fighting against drugs are being implicated in cases or murdered. Political criticism will not deter me from pursuing this serious matter.”
Responding to AAP's allegations that drugs were entering Punjab through Gujarat's ports, Shah said narcotics worth ₹20,000 crore had been seized at ports in Gujarat and Maharashtra. He questioned how drugs continued to enter Punjab? “Such trafficking could not take place without the involvement of elements within the state government”, Shah said.
*No drug smuggler apprehended in Punjab under PIT-NDPS act: Shah*
The Union Home Minister questioned the lack of enforcement under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PIT-NDPS) Act in Punjab. “In the last one year, 929 cases have been registered under the Act across the country, but no one in Punjab had been apprehended under it. PIT - NDPS cases are non-bailable cases that allow authorities to detain individuals to stop them from engaging in the illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs”, Shah said.
Shah further said that Punjab had not convened a single meeting of the Narco-Coordination Centre (NCORD) in the past two years, despite more than 48 such meetings being held by states across India.
*Punjab will be made drug-free by December 31, 2029 Shah* While reassuring the people of Punjab, Shah said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision is to make India and Punjab drug-free, and make ‘Viksit Bharat’. People should know that BJP delivers what they say. The abrogation of Article 370, action against terrorism in the Northeast and Naxalism, and the replacement of colonial-era criminal laws as examples of commitments that BJP has fulfilled.
Now, we promise people of Punjab that Before December 31, 2029, we will make Punjab and India drug-free.”
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