Ludhiana, Oct 20 (IANS) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday slammed the AAP government in Punjab for its failure to curb the drug menace, saying the drug trade “continues to grow day-by-day in the state”.

After meeting kin of drug menace victims in his day-long tour, Home Minister Shah said he never felt so deeply saddened in his life.

“I once again assure people of Punjab that we will eradicate the drug trade by December 31, 2029,” Home Minister Shah categorically cleared while addressing the media in Ludhiana, before concluding his visit to the state, the second in 20 days.

“Shame on the AAP government in Punjab. They accuse us, claiming that drugs arrive via ports in Gujarat. So far, from Gujarat and Maharashtra ports, drugs worth Rs 20,000 crore have been seized. How do these drugs, once broken down into smaller packets, end up in Punjab? We have been working to stop this…How do these drug packets reach the youth of Punjab? Is this possible without political patronage? No, it is absolutely impossible,” he said after meeting with family members of those who lost their lives while fighting against drugs in Gurdaspur, Sangrur, and Mansa in Punjab.

“I want to ask the government today how 929 people have been caught across the country under PIT-NDPS. How many have been caught in Punjab, where drug trafficking is the highest? But they won’t answer; I’ll tell you that zero have been caught in Punjab. Not a single person has been caught under PIT-NDPS.”

Home Minister Shah said in the morning, after celebrating his birthday, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann took a positive step by referring a case to the CBI.

“I want to promise the people of Punjab that in the case entrusted to us, whoever the accused may be, no matter how powerful, we will hunt them down and bring them to justice. We will take the matter to court.”

Earlier in the day, Home Minister Shah assured justice for the family of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota, who was allegedly murdered for raising his voice against drugs in Mansa, by announcing that a team from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) would reach their residence by 12 noon on Wednesday and begin investigating the case.

During his visit to Mansa, Shah met the family of Jhota and assured them that justice would be delivered. The meeting lasted around 20 minutes. During the interaction, Shah announced that a team from the CBI would reach Jhota’s residence and begin investigating the case.

He met Bhim Singh, the father of Jhota, along with other family members and expressed condolences. The announcement came as part of Shah’s engagements during his day-long Punjab visit, which included meetings with families in three places and criticism of the state government over the drug menace.

Shah landed at Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport in Amritsar in the morning. From there, he travelled to Gurdaspur, followed by Sangrur, before arriving in Mansa.

Ahead of the visit of Home Minister Shah, the state government reiterated its support for the family of slain activist Jhota and announced that his case will be handed over to the CBI in response to the family’s demand.

--IANS

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