Mann Hits Back at Amit Shah: Drugs Come Via BJP-Ruled Statesਮਾਨ ਨੇ ਅਮਿਤ ਸ਼ਾਹ ਨੂੰ ਜਵਾਬ ਦਿੱਤਾ: ਨਸ਼ਾ ਭਾਜਪਾ ਸ਼ਾਸਿਤ ਸੂਬਿਆਂ ਰਾਹੀਂ ਆਉਂਦਾ ਹੈ

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday, October 16, answered Union Home Minister Amit Shah in sharp terms, saying the drug trade Shah blamed on Punjab reaches the state through routes that pass BJP-ruled states and ports. Mann was speaking to the media a day after reviewing the state anti-drug campaign at Phillaur, and his remarks turned Shah's attack on the Aam Aadmi Party government into a counter-attack on the Centre's own record.

What did Mann say?

Mann pointed to large drug seizures at Kandla port in Gujarat and asked who had been in power in Gujarat for all these years. He said narcotics come via Rajasthan and Haryana, both ruled by the BJP, and still Punjab is the one cursed for the trade. He also questioned the Border Security Force, noting that the BSF holds jurisdiction up to 50 kilometres from the international border, so border security cannot be treated as the state's job alone.

The Chief Minister then reached back to the years 2007 to 2017, when the Shiromani Akali Dal governed Punjab in alliance with the BJP. He alleged that the BJP had backed the Akalis through that period despite the drug problem, and said Shah should look at his own party's contribution to the menace before pointing a finger at the AAP. The Akali leader named in his remarks has denied drug allegations in the past, and Mann's claims are presented here as his political allegations, not as findings of any court or agency.

What was Mann responding to?

Shah had posted on X that Punjab is grappling with rising drugs, gangsterism and organised crime, and that the Home Ministry would seek the Punjab government's reply on two cases: the killing of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota in Mansa, and the death of Gulzar Singh of Dirba in Sangrur district, who died after consuming poison and whose family alleged harassment after he questioned a minister about local drug supply. Shah said the people of Punjab want answers and results, not announcements, and repeated the BJP promise of a drug-free Punjab if it wins power in the state.

Mann's party colleague Arvind Kejriwal had already answered Shah on X a day earlier, in a post Jugti reported separately. Mann's intervention adds the state government's own voice to that exchange, and it lands on the same day the Chief Minister chaired the Phillaur review of the Yudh Nasheyan Virudh campaign, approved 117 vehicles for deputy superintendents of police and promised the police a free hand with no political interference.

Why does this exchange matter?

Punjab votes in an Assembly election due in early 2027, and drugs have become the central charge each side levels at the other. The Centre seeking a formal reply from the state gives the argument an official track beyond social media. What the Punjab government files in response, and whether the Home Ministry follows up, will shape the next round of this fight.

Did Bhagwant Mann deny that Punjab has a drug problem?

No. Mann argued about responsibility, saying drugs enter through BJP-ruled states and ports and that the Centre must share accountability for border and port routes instead of blaming Punjab alone.

What happens next in the Shah and Mann exchange?

The Home Ministry has said it will seek Punjab's reply on the Jhota killing and the Dirba death. Punjab's written response, when it comes, is expected to be the next development.