Chandigarh (Gurpreet Singh): Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Friday launched a sharp attack on Union Home Minister Amit Shah, asking him to answer for the seizure of 3,000 kg of heroin at Gujarat’s Kandla Port instead of defaming Punjab and indulging in political blame games. Challenging Amit Shah to take responsibility for drug routes running from BJP-ruled Gujarat through Rajasthan and Haryana, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann questioned how drugs continue to enter the country despite border security being under the Union Home Ministry.
Responding to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s post on X, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann stated: “Amit Shah ji, you should have consulted your advisers before speaking about me. The BSF has a 50-kilometre jurisdiction, yet 3,000 kg of heroin is being seized at Gujarat’s Kandla Port. Before blaming CM Bhagwant Singh Mann, take responsibility for your own duties. Stop copy-pasting scripted tweets written by your ‘chamchas’.”
Responding to questions about Amit Shah’s remarks on Punjab’s law and order situation, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann said, “I also responded to Amit Shah. Why did you not mention what I said? What reply did I give? Have you ever seen Amit Shah write in Punjabi? Someone must have sent him the statement from here, and he simply copied and pasted it.”
The Chief Minister pointed out, “The BSF has a 50-kilometre operational range along the border, yet consignments of around 3,000 kilograms of drugs are seized at Gujarat’s Kandla Port. If drugs are coming from Pakistan, then who controls the BSF? It comes under the Union Home Ministry.”
He pointed out, “The BJP has been in power in Gujarat for years.. If the route passes through Rajasthan, whose government is in power there? The BJP’s. If it passes through Haryana, whose government is in power there? The BJP’s. Yet they keep blaming Punjab. Before making allegations against Punjab, they should examine their own responsibilities. Our position is clear: we will not protect any drug smuggler, and we will continue to take strict action against those involved in the drug trade.”
Referring to the period when the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP alliance governed Punjab, he said, “Who was in power in Punjab from 2007 to 2017? The Akali Dal and the BJP. When Majithia was sending drugs in vehicles fitted with red beacons, who was providing protection? They were the ones doing it. The BJP formed the government at the Centre in 2014, and even after that, they continued supporting those elements.”
“Amit Shah, before defaming Punjab, please consider your own record. In Punjabi, we say that one should sweep under one’s own doorstep before blaming somebody else. First examine your own house, and then make allegations against others,” affirmed CM Bhagwant Singh Man.
Asked about the timing of political statements and whether Punjab was being targeted, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann said, “This is exactly what will continue now that elections are approaching. If the CBI conducts raids on my family members or on people close to me whom I trust, it means elections are approaching. They followed the same pattern in Bengal, Bihar, Maharashtra, Delhi and Haryana. So, let them keep talking. The people of Punjab will give their own answer.”
Senior AAP leader and Punjab Prabhari Manish Sisodia stated: “Amit Shah ji, do not defame Punjab. You are the Union Home Minister. Breaking the drug supply chain through which narcotics are being supplied to Punjab via Gujarat is your responsibility. Today, when the Bhagwant Mann Government has broken the chain of drug traffickers in Punjab, it is your responsibility as the Union Home Minister to dismantle the supply chain operating out of Gujarat. The highest quantity of drugs in the country has been seized at Gujarat’s ports over the past five years. Yet, you have set out to defame Punjab for political gains?”
The AAP Punjab Prabhari pointed out, “Lawrence Bishnoi is operating his entire network from Sabarmati Jail. Phone calls, video calls, threats and criminal operations are all taking place from a high-security jail in your state. The question of where gangsterism is being sheltered should be directed not at Punjab, but at your own government.”
Manish Sisodia noted, “Between 2007 and 2017, when the SAD-BJP government was in power, the drug trade involving ‘chitta’ and heroin flourished in Punjab. The poison sown by your government during that period is what Punjab is being forced to deal with today. Having forgotten that history, are you now trying to defame Punjab? Border security, ports and central agencies such as the NCB (Narcotics Control Bureau) and DRI (Directorate of Revenue Intelligence) fall under the jurisdiction of the Central Government. When drugs are entering the country through Gujarat’s ports, who should be held responsible?”
Meanwhile, senior AAP leader and Cabinet Minister Harpal Singh Cheema stated: “You are the ones spreading drugs in Punjab through Adani’s ports. You are the ones providing security in Sabarmati Jail to those spreading gangsterism in Punjab. You are the ones who joined hands with the ‘Chitta Party’ to spread drugs in Punjab between 2007 and 2017. And now, are you dreaming of making billions of rupees once again by selling drugs in Punjab in collusion with that same party?”
“Today, the highest levels of drug abuse are in states where your governments have been in power for years. Was making money by selling drugs in those states not enough? Have you now returned to Punjab, once again joining hands with your ‘Chitta Party’, to destroy the state? The people know that your eyes are set on Punjab’s waters, Panjab University and Chandigarh. Do you want to bring back the three black laws? Punjab will never allow this to happen,” asserted Harpal Singh Cheema.
AAP Punjab, in its response, stated: “Amit Shah ji, you are the Union Home Minister of India. Before you lecture Punjab, answer for your own Ministry. Border security is your responsibility. The BSF reports to you. You extended its jurisdiction from 15 to 50 km in 2021. Every drone that crosses into Punjab crosses a border your Ministry is meant to guard. The Mann government had to install its own anti-drone system, Baaz Akh, to protect Punjab’s youth because the drones kept coming.”
The party demanded Amit Shah to tell the country: how did nearly 3,000 kg of Afghan heroin reach Mundra port in his Gujarat in 2021? “How did 115 kg of cocaine worth Rs 1,150 crore and 196 kg of Captagon reach the same coast this May? Why are mephedrone labs being busted in Agar Malwa in January and Sanchore in February? Who is letting this happen in the states you rule? And a CAG report tabled this March found 2,332 kg of drugs seized by Gujarat Police, over a third of everything it seized between 2010 and 2022, left unaccounted for. Gujarat’s CID told the Home Department that some was stolen and the rest was eaten by rats. So tell the country, Amit Shah ji: did the rats eat it, or did you supply it to other states?”
The party pointed out, “Punjab, meanwhile, is fighting back. Punjab Police’s own data shows heroin availability has fallen under the Mann government’s crackdown. When anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota was shot in Mansa, Punjab Police tracked the accused to Rajasthan, arrested him within 24 hours, demolished a property linked to him, and suspended the Mansa SHO. And in your own double-engine Haryana, Punjab’s neighbour, journalists who ran a drug sting were arrested in the CM’s own constituency. Is democracy dead under your rule? Is that your idea of a drug-free India?”
“Punjab does not need your lectures or your election-season sympathy. It needs answers. Secure the border. Clean up your own states. Then come and speak to Punjab,” the AAP affirmed.
