Chandigarh
 
With the BJP preparing to take its ‘Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra’ through the state from September 18, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday sought to turn the drug issue into a political liability for the Opposition, asking why Punjab was being singled out when large drug consignments were being seized in Gujarat and other states, ruled by BJP. Pointing to the seizure of around 3,000 kg of drugs at Mundra Port, Mann said the BJP should first “take care of its Mundra Port” instead of holding a campaign against drugs in Punjab.
 
The counter-attack came with the government putting up an extensive defence of its record on drugs, gangsters, and terrorism. Mann claimed that nearly 80 percent of the drugs entering Punjab from Pakistan had been eliminated following the crackdown and “the government would now target the remaining supply routes through Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan”. The BJP’s proposed yatra, he said, could not be used to portray Punjab as the source of a problem whose network extended well beyond the state.
 
Mann said Punjab was receiving relatively small consignments of drugs, including two-, five- and 10-kg packets, often pushed across the international border through drones, while consignments running into thousands of kilograms had been seized elsewhere.
 
He questioned why Punjab continued to be blamed despite the state police pursuing drug networks outside Punjab. Police, he said, had gone to Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan to track consignments and suspects.
 
The Chief Minister also underlined Punjab’s vulnerability as a border state, saying it shares a 532-km international border with Pakistan and remains a key target for attempts to smuggle drugs and weapons and disturb the state. He said around 40 percent of the Punjab Police force works alongside the BSF on the border and that Punjab had installed anti-drone systems with its own funds.
 
Mann argued that Punjab’s share of national heroin seizures — around 60 percent — should not be used to suggest that the drugs originate in Punjab. The real question, he said, was where the consignments enter the country and how the supply chains operate.
 
DGP Gaurav Yadav backed the Chief Minister with a detailed account of the crackdown under the government’s ‘Yudh Nashiyan Virudh’ campaign, launched on March 1, 2025.
 
He said 60,582 FIRs had been registered under the NDPS Act and nearly 80,000 people arrested, including 708 major drug traffickers from whom more than two kg of heroin each had been recovered. Police seized 3,803 kg of heroin, 78 lakh tablets and capsules, 46 tonnes of poppy husk and 976 kg of opium.
 
The financial trail has also come under scrutiny. Punjab accounted for around 62 percent of the property-freezing action under Section 68 of the NDPS Act. The competent authority of the Finance Ministry approved 914 proposals, resulting in freezing of assets worth Rs 306 crore. Police also arrested 102 hawala operators and recovered Rs 11 crore in hawala money.
 
The state reported an 89 percent conviction rate in NDPS cases. Since March 2025, courts have decided 13,403 cases, with convictions recorded in 11,981.
 
DGP Yadav said the crackdown on organised crime had resulted in 3,177 gangster arrests and the dismantling of 1,234 gangster modules, with 428 weapons and 719 vehicles recovered.
 
The police have also pursued fugitives outside Punjab, with operations carried out in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Nagaland, and the northeast. DGP Yadav said 10 international fugitives had been brought back this year, while the state police’s Overseas Fugitive Tracking Cell, formed in January 2026, was coordinating intelligence, documentation, and central and foreign agencies for such operations.
 
On terrorism, the DGP said 92 terror modules had been busted and 86 accused arrested, while 48 reported terror cases had been solved. Recoveries included 54 AK-47 rifles, nearly 600 pistols and revolvers, 38 IEDs, 28.8 kg of RDX, six RPGs and 952 drones.
 
The recovery of the assault rifles gave Mann another opening to question the Centre’s handling of Punjab’s security concerns. With the BSF deployed along the international border, he asked how 54 AK-47s reached Punjab. “The focus should be on identifying the route and network through which the weapons entered the country,” he said.
 
Mann argued that weapons reaching Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, or any other state represented a national security threat and should not become a subject of Centre-state political point-scoring.
 
Mann simultaneously attacked the Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal over their criticism of the government’s law-and-order record. He accused both parties of having patronised gangster elements during their earlier governments saying that they had no moral authority to lecture the present government on organised crime.
 
He dubbed the Opposition’s approach “vulture politics”, alleging that political parties were using every crime or tragedy to remain in the headlines instead of presenting a roadmap for Punjab.
 
The Chief Minister also attacked the Centre over several issues, including flood assistance, river waters, BBMB matters, Panjab University, and the proposed Seeds Act, and reiterated his demand for a special package for Punjab.
 
BJP SEEKS SECURITY COVER FOR ‘NASHA MUKT PUNJAB YATRAS’

 Ahead of its state-wide ‘Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatras’, Punjab BJP leaders on Monday met DGP Gaurav Yadav and submitted a memorandum seeking adequate security and traffic arrangements for the campaign beginning September 18 (Friday).
 
Led by state BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon, the delegation sought security along the entire routes, particularly in view of the participation of senior BJP leaders and Union Ministers. The party also urged the police headquarters to issue advance directions to the concerned SSPs, DSPs, and SHOs to ensure arrangements are finalised well in advance.
 
The BJP is organising four anti-drug yatras from September 18 to 30, with the campaign positioned as a state-wide mobilisation against drug abuse ahead of the Assembly polls. The party said the initiative would seek to generate public awareness, particularly among youngsters, and build support for a drug-free Punjab.
 
The campaign will be formally launched on September 18 from Ekta Sthal in Sujanpur, Pathankot, where BJP national president Nitin Nabin will flag off the first yatra. Senior BJP leaders and Union Ministers are expected to participate at different stages.
 
The campaign will culminate in Jalandhar on September 30, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah expected to attend the concluding programme.
 
Dhillon said the BJP had lost confidence in the State Government’s handling of the drug menace and was, therefore, making its own arrangements to ensure the campaign reached people across Punjab.