Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday accused the BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal of enabling the drug trade in Punjab during their time in power, as he sought to counter recent remarks by Union home minister Amit Shah on making the state drug-free. Addressing a press interaction in New Delhi, Kejriwal said the issue of drugs in Punjab had deepened under previous governments and remained a matter of public concern.
His remarks came about two weeks after Shah, speaking at a political rally in Moga, said that nearly 45% of heroin smuggling in India was linked to Punjab and asserted that only a BJP government could eliminate the trade. Shah had said that if voted to power in the state, the BJP would wipe out the drug business within two years.
Referring to those remarks, Kejriwal said the BJP could not distance itself from the history of the drug problem in Punjab. He alleged that drug networks had expanded under earlier dispensations and claimed that political protection and weak enforcement had allowed the problem to take root. He said people in the state had not forgotten that period and argued that responsibility for the crisis could not be separated from the parties that were in power at the time.
Kejriwal also accused the Shiromani Akali Dal of failing to curb the spread of narcotics during its tenure in office. He said the current Punjab government, led by chief minister Bhagwant Mann, was taking action against those allegedly involved in drug-related activity and pursuing cases linked to earlier periods of governance. According to him, individuals named in such matters were being investigated and prosecuted.
The AAP leader also questioned the BJP’s handling of narcotics cases outside Punjab, referring to the seizure of drugs at Mundra Port in Gujarat. He raised concerns over the pace and extent of action in that case and asked whether the same standard of accountability was being applied across states. He further referred to alleged discrepancies in drug storage and handling, saying these pointed to broader gaps in enforcement.
Kejriwal said the Punjab government was trying to tackle the drug problem through a mix of policing and public participation. He said the administration had made the issue a priority and was continuing its campaign against drug abuse and trafficking.
The exchange adds to a sharpening political contest over the drugs issue in Punjab, which is expected to remain a major theme ahead of the 2027 assembly election. While the BJP has sought to project itself as capable of mounting a tougher response, AAP has argued that the present government is confronting a problem created over several years by its predecessors.
There was no immediate fresh response from the BJP or the Shiromani Akali Dal to Kejriwal’s allegations on Sunday.
