Chandigarh, October 20: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday launched a sharp counter-attack on Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the day of Shah's Punjab visit, accusing the Centre of conspiring to defame Punjab and asking why the BJP raises the state's drug problem mainly during elections.
Addressing a live conference while Shah was in the state meeting families of people killed after raising their voice against the drug trade, Mann said the Home Minister was welcome to come to Punjab whenever he wished, but objected to the BJP's claim that Shah was visiting to save the state and make it drug-free. "You are the Union Home Minister. Why are you not stopping drugs coming from Pakistan? Why do you remember Punjab only during elections?" Mann asked, accusing the BJP of divisive and low-level politics.
Allegations (by Mann): Mann alleged that drugs were entering Punjab from Gujarat, and that large consignments of drugs had entered the country through ports associated with the Adani Group. He said Punjab Police had seized consignments weighing thousands of kilograms, and questioned why such shipments had not been stopped before they could reach the state. Awaaz Punjab has not independently verified these claims.
Mann also turned to the record of the previous Shiromani Akali Dal–BJP government, which ruled Punjab from 2007 to 2017. He alleged that drug trafficking grew significantly during that period and asked why the Centre had not taken effective action against those involved. He claimed drug smugglers had named influential ministers but that meaningful action had not followed, and he referred to demands for a CBI investigation against senior Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia, alleging action had not been taken because of the political alliance between the BJP and the Akali Dal.
Comparing Punjab with other states, Mann claimed Rajasthan was facing a serious drug problem and described Haryana as a breeding ground for gangsters, arguing the BJP should tackle those challenges instead of singling out Punjab.
The Chief Minister also raised the farmers' protest against the now-repealed central farm laws, which continued on the outskirts of Delhi for around a year and a half. He said more than 700 farmers had died during the agitation and questioned why BJP leaders had not visited their families or expressed solidarity with them. He said the Punjab government had provided compensation of ₹5 lakh and government jobs to eligible families of farmers who lost their lives during the protest.
Mann maintained that the Centre should focus on curbing cross-border drug smuggling and preventing narcotics from entering Punjab rather than using the issue to target the state politically. Earlier on Tuesday, he had announced that the investigation into the murder of anti-drug activist Parminder Singh Jhota would be handed over to the CBI, accepting his family's demand — a development Awaaz Punjab has published as a separate story.
The exchange came as Shah met the families of Jhota in Mansa, Bikramjit Singh in Gurdaspur and Gulzar Singh in Sangrur, and as all three major parties — the AAP, the BJP and the Congress — make drugs and law and order the central battleground ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections. No BJP response to Mann's Tuesday remarks was reported at the time of writing. (Sources: Punjab Newsline; Current Affairs World; Punjab Chronicle)