BJP National Leadership Presses Punjab Government Over Deaths of Anti-Drug Activists

BJP national leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah and party president Nitin Nabin, have pressed the AAP government in Punjab to account for the deaths of residents who opposed drug peddling. Shah announced the MHA will formally seek an explanation from Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's administration. The incidents cited include the killing of Bikramjit Singh in Batala, the murder of activist Parvinder Singh Jhota in Mansa, and the suicide of a father in Dirba. The BJP has framed drug eradication as its primary platform ahead of future Punjab elections.

BJP's national leadership, on Friday, raised questions about the Punjab government's handling of a series of deaths among people who had been vocal opponents of drug trafficking in their localities. Three deaths tied to anti-drug activity in Punjab — Batala resident Bikramjit Singh, 40, killed after reportedly confronting drug sellers; Parvinder Singh Jhota, an anti-drug campaigner, shot in Mansa on 13 October in broad daylight; and a 50-year-old father from Dirba who took his own life last month after reportedly facing harassment following a public challenge to Finance Minister Harpal Cheema over heroin sales and his son's addiction — formed the basis of Shah's remarks that open questions remain around law enforcement in the state, including its drug trade, gang networks, and organised crime, with Shah also posting on X that the home ministry would seek answers from the Punjab government on both incidents and raising the question of accountability within Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's administration for public safety. Shah's remarks followed a statement by Jhota's father, who identified the AAP and its local MLA as parties he holds accountable for his son's death. Shah called on authorities to break apart what he characterised as deeply rooted drug networks, while also pressing for an independent investigation into reported connections between political figures and organised crime. At the gathering, Shah put forward what he characterised as the BJP's foremost goals for Punjab — breaking up unlicensed drug operations and reducing gang-related activity through tighter policing measures — contingent on the party winning power in the state. Nabin raised the question of what the safety risks faced by anti-drug workers reveal about conditions in Punjab. A BJP-organised drive through Punjab — labelled "Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra" and stretching across all 117 assembly constituencies over 13 days and around 4,000 kilometres — concluded at a rally in Jalandhar on 30 September where Amit Shah addressed attendees, after which the federal home ministry took its own action on the matter. Speaking at a rally, Shah positioned narcotics crackdowns as a centrepiece of the BJP's pitch to voters, pledging that the party would dismantle the drug trade across the state before 2029 — provided it secured an electoral mandate.

BJP National Leadership Presses Punjab Government Over Deaths of Anti-Drug Activists

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BJP National Leadership Presses Punjab Government Over Deaths of Anti-Drug Activists

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