Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta on Saturday accused the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government in Punjab of failing to curb the drug menace, alleging that the “demon of drugs” was expanding across villages and cities.
Gupta made the remarks while flagging off the Punjab BJP’s second ‘Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra’ from Fatehgarh Sahib. The 13-day campaign will cover nearly 4,000 km across all 117 assembly constituencies of Punjab and will culminate in a rally in Jalandhar on September 30, which is scheduled to be addressed by Union home minister Amit Shah.
BJP’s national president Nitin Nabin launched the first yatra in Pathankot on Friday.
Addressing a gathering, Gupta said: “Today, this demon of drugs is spreading from village to village and city to city. When the AAP government took office in 2022, they promised that within three or four months, they would eliminate drugs. Did they fulfil that promise? This government keeps making empty promises, and it is deceitful.”
“The deadline was extended, first by three months and then by four months, and has now been extended six times,” she alleged, adding that a government repeatedly setting new deadlines could not be expected to eradicate drugs.
{{/usCountry}}“The deadline was extended, first by three months and then by four months, and has now been extended six times,” she alleged, adding that a government repeatedly setting new deadlines could not be expected to eradicate drugs.
{{/usCountry}}Gupta said the BJP campaign would seek to mobilise people against drugs, crime and insecurity while also highlighting what the party described as the failures of the AAP government.
She also questioned Kejriwal’s role in Punjab and alleged that he continued to influence the state government. Gupta further alleged that public money was being used in other states for the party’s political interests. She raised questions over Kejriwal’s use of private aircraft and his alleged residence in Punjab.
On the state’s finances, the Delhi CM put Punjab’s debt at around ₹5-lakh crore and questioned who would ultimately repay it. She also alleged that people had been misled by promises surrounding the “Delhi model” of governance.
Gupta also criticised the AAP leadership over its handling of floods in Punjab, alleging that Kejriwal returned to Delhi while the state was facing the crisis.
Before flagging off the yatra, Earlier in the day, the Delhi CM paid obeisance at Gurdwara Jyoti Saroop Sahib, linked to the martyrdom of the younger Sahibzadas of Guru Gobind Singh.
Speaking on the occasion, Punjab BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon said the yatra was not intended merely for political gains but would serve as a people’s movement against drugs.
Dhillon alleged that the AAP government had failed to eliminate the drug menace during its tenure and claimed that attempts had been made to silence those raising their voices against the problem.
Taking a dig at drug trafficking in the state, Dhillon said: “A saying has emerged that pizza delivery may be delayed, but chitta delivery is never delayed.”
He also alleged that BJP programmes had been disrupted through egg-throwing, black flags and the tearing down of party posters.
BJP national vice-president Manpreet Singh Badal said Punjab’s contribution to the armed forces and its history of gallantry made the drug problem a matter of concern. He alleged that weakening Punjab would weaken India and said the state’s pride could be restored by tackling drugs.
BJP state in-charge Satish Poonia, MLA Ashwani Sharma, Rajya Sabha member Satnam Singh Sandhu and party leaders Avinash Rai Khanna, HS Phoolka, Parminder Brar and Rajesh Bagga were present at the event.