Pathankot (Punjab) [India], September 18 (ANI): With the Punjab Assembly elections approaching next year, a fierce political battle has erupted between the ruling Aam Aadmi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party over the state’s crippling drug crisis.
Addressing a public gathering in Pathankot on Friday, BJP National President Nitin Nabin officially launched the statewide "Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra," using the platform to deliver a sharp attack on the state administration's handling of public safety and law enforcement.
Nabin’s visit comes at a volatile time, closely following the tragic death of Gulzar Singh, a Dalit labourer from Sangrur who died by suicide after allegedly facing harassment and casteist slurs for publicly questioning a state minister over the unrestricted circulation of synthetic drugs (chitta) after losing his own son to addiction.
Speaking to the crowd, Nabin stated that he came to stand in solidarity with families facing unimaginable pain, drawing a sharp parallel between Punjab's proud heritage and its current plight.
"Whenever our nation's borders faced a threat, the youth of Punjab—our brave soldiers—would stand tall... But today, Punjab faces an enemy that does not wear a uniform; instead, it silently infiltrates our villages and homes... This enemy is none other than the drug menace and the mafia behind it," Nabin said, adding that the BJP possesses the determination to take the anti-drug campaign to every corner of the state.
He accused the state government of running a system mired in corruption, gangster culture, and mafia rule, while dismissing Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's recent remarks by stating that the people of Punjab would give him the appropriate answer.
The political tension escalated dramatically when senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu alleged that his convoy was violently attacked while travelling to Pathankot for the yatra.
Bittu claimed that a mob of around 500 people surrounded his Z-plus security convoy, threatened his team, and damaged vehicle windows, accusing local police of deliberately slowing down his vehicles to help the perpetrators escape.
"AAP has become a gangster party. If someone who has security protection is attacked by 200 people... The DGP and the CM should be ashamed," Bittu said, adding that he was waiting at the police station to register an FIR while accusing the state government of shielding drug dealers.
The incident drew sharp reactions from other senior BJP figures, with MP Raghav Chadha stating that if a leader with Z-plus security protection is vulnerable to such attacks, the common man in Punjab is entirely unsafe.
BJP Mahila Morcha president Jai Inder Kaur claimed the attack was a deliberate attempt to derail their anti-drug campaign, while leaders like HS Phoolka and Vijay Sampla alleged that law and order had completely collapsed into a "Gunda Raj" where anyone speaking against drug smugglers is targeted.
In sharp contrast, the ruling AAP and its leaders fiercely hit back at the opposition, dismissing the campaign as political theatrics.
Taking to X, AAP Punjab posted, "Down with the anti-Punjab BJP !! BJP's fake campaign of marching against drugs met with sharp protest as Pathankot residents waved black flags. Having pushed Punjab's youth into the abyss of drugs, the BJP will never be allowed by Punjabis to succeed with this hypocritical politics dressed up in double standards."
Amplifying the backlash, AAP leader Jarnail Singh posted on X that the people of Punjab had "shown the BJP and its drama tour the mirror" by protesting and throwing eggs at leaders like Raghav Chadha and Sandeep Pathak, a sentiment echoed by Anurag Dhanda, who noted that angry youth were openly showing their displeasure.
With the BJP's four yatras planned to cover all 117 Assembly constituencies ahead of their culmination in Jalandhar on September 30, the battle lines have clearly been drawn, putting the drug crisis and law and order at the absolute centre of Punjab's electoral landscape.
Earlier today, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia announced that Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will personally lead the party's massive statewide door-to-door outreach campaign from his home constituency of Dhuri starting September 20.
The door-to-door outreach campaign comes ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections and will serve as a report card for the administration.
Addressing a press conference in Chandigarh, Sisodia said that AAP has built various teams and booth committees, including the youth wing, the women's wing. and the SC wing, among others. The campaign will be carried out by booth committees across 25,332 booths.
He added that a cadre of 2.68 lakh booth committee members will fan out across the state, conducting house-to-house visits to highlight developmental work, welfare guarantees fulfilled, and administrative reforms.
"2,68,553 workers, booth committee members, booth leaders, and booth committee members will take the achievements of the government to every household. Over the next month, every single booth committee member will visit households, speak with people, and discuss with them how, over the last four and a half years, because of the Punjab Government, Punjab has progressed, their families have benefited, and their personal lives have improved," he said.
Sisodia asserted that the Mann administration has delivered on all its key poll guarantees within 4.5 years, securing deep public trust across urban and rural belts. (ANI)
Political slugfest: BJP launches 'Nasha Mukt' yatra in Punjab; AAP calls it 'drama tour'
