Shah Burns 'Chitta' Effigy in Ludhiana, Vows Drug-Free Punjab by End of 2029ਸ਼ਾਹ ਨੇ ਲੁਧਿਆਣਾ ਵਿੱਚ ਚਿੱਟੇ ਦਾ ਪੁਤਲਾ ਫੂਕਿਆ, 2029 ਤੱਕ ਨਸ਼ਾ ਮੁਕਤ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦਾ ਸੰਕਲਪ

Union Home Minister Amit Shah ended his day in Punjab on Tuesday evening at the Vijayadashami celebrations in Ludhiana, where he performed the burning of a symbolic Ravana of chitta, the street name for the synthetic drug that has devastated families across the state. Standing before the crowd at the city's historic Ravana Dahan, Shah turned the festival's central ritual into a pledge: by 31 December 2029, he said, Punjab would be freed from the drug trade altogether. It was the final public act of a visit built entirely around the drug crisis, after a day spent meeting the families of three men who died after opposing the trade.

What did Shah say at the Ravana Dahan?

Shah framed the effigy burning in the language of the festival itself. In our tradition, he said, the burning of Ravana's effigy is a symbol of the victory of good over evil, and Vijayadashami is the day for every person to eliminate the ego, pride, greed and other evils within themselves. Thousands of years ago, he said, Lord Ram achieved victory over the demon king Ravana, and the world has celebrated that victory ever since. He added a personal note about the venue: he had heard since childhood that if you want to see Ravana Dahan, go to Ludhiana, where the Ramlila Committee has been organising the programme for 200 years. This year, the Ravana placed before the crowd stood not only for the mythological king but for chitta itself.

The families he had met hours earlier

The pledge was tied directly to the three families Shah had visited earlier on Tuesday in Gurdaspur, Sangrur and Mansa. He said he had met families at three places in Punjab who had lost their sons in the fight against drugs, and that the tears in the eyes of those relatives, their questions and their pain are enough to shake anyone to the core. Bikramjit Singh was killed in Gurdaspur district after confronting alleged drug peddlers, Gulzar Singh died in Sangrur after alleging harassment for questioning drug sales, and Parvinder Singh Jhota was shot dead in Mansa on 13 October. Shah said there could be no greater tribute to the three men than a drug-free Punjab, and he set the end of 2029 as the date by which that tribute should be delivered.

CBI demand repeated, and a helpline appeal

Shah repeated the demand he had made at his Ludhiana press conference earlier in the day. The Punjab government, he noted, has handed over the investigation of one murder to the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Jhota case, which Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann transferred that morning. Shah urged the state government to hand over the remaining two murders to the CBI as well, and expressed confidence that justice would be done. Once the investigation is handed over to the CBI, he said, no matter how big a person is involved in these murders, the Narendra Modi government will track them down and put them behind bars. He also appealed directly to the public: if the people of Punjab provide information about the drug trade on the Narcotics Control Bureau's toll-free helpline, he said, the Modi government will take action on it.

A record of promises, Shah argues

To support the 2029 resolve, Shah pointed to what he described as the Modi government's record of fulfilling what it has promised. Article 370 and 35A are gone, he said, terrorism is on the verge of being eliminated, and we have ended Naxalism. Now, he said, we will also eliminate the drug trade. Those are the Home Minister's claims, made at a festival stage on the most politically charged day Punjab has seen this month. The Aam Aadmi Party government answered Shah's wider visit within hours: Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann accused him of politicising the drug crisis ahead of elections and asked why the Centre had not helped Punjab install an anti-drone system on the Pakistan border, a response Jugti reported earlier this evening. Whether the effigy burning is remembered as symbolism or as a deadline the Centre is held to will depend on what changes on the ground in Punjab's villages and towns over the next three years.

What effigy did Amit Shah burn in Ludhiana?

A symbolic Ravana of chitta, the synthetic drug, at the Vijayadashami Ravana Dahan in Ludhiana on Tuesday evening. The local Ramlila Committee has organised the event for about 200 years.

What deadline did Shah set for a drug-free Punjab?

31 December 2029. Shah said the government would free the entire state from the drug trade by that date, as a tribute to the three men killed after opposing drugs.

What did Shah ask the public to do?

To share information about the drug trade on the Narcotics Control Bureau's toll-free helpline. He said the Modi government would act on such information.