Chandigarh, Sep 20 (PTI) Punjab Congress leader Vijay Inder Singla on Sunday lashed out at the BJP over its anti-drug yatra, saying the state does not need “political yatras” and slogans on drugs, but honest accountability and measurable action.
He asked the BJP to present its track record on tackling the menace before “lecturing Punjab on the drug crisis”.
“The BJP was a partner in the Punjab government from 2007 to 2017, a decade during which the drug crisis emerged as one of Punjab’s most serious social challenges,” said Congress Working Committee member Singla in a statement here.
Singla said despite the BJP’s long association with the Punjab government in the past and the prolonged tenure of the Modi government at the Centre, the networks supplying drugs into Punjab have not been dismantled.
“The drug-trafficking cases and investigations that emerged from 2013 onwards exposed the scale and complexity of organised drug networks in the state,” he alleged.
“The people of Punjab have every right to ask why, despite years of governments and central agencies claiming to fight the menace, major supply networks continue to pose a challenge,” he asked.
Citing Union Home Ministry data, Singla said the number of drones seized or recovered by the BSF along the India-Pakistan border in Punjab rose from 107 in 2023 to 294 in 2024, with 292 drones recovered in 2025 as well.
In 2021, the Centre had also expanded the BSF’s jurisdiction in Punjab from 15 km to 50 km from the international border, he added.
He asked the Centre to explain what concrete results it achieved in preventing the use of drones and the border route for drug trafficking.
Singla said the fight against drugs cannot be reduced to a political campaign or a photo opportunity.
“It is a question of Punjab’s youth, its families and the future of the state,” he said.
He called for stronger border security, decisive action against major trafficking networks, time-bound investigations and comprehensive rehabilitation for those battling addiction.
BJP chief Nitin Nabin kicked off ‘Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra’ in Pathankot on Friday. PTI CHS KSI KSI
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