Ludhiana: The Union home minister Amit Shah attacked the ruling Aam Aadmi Party and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann by saying that he did well to hand over the Parvinder Singh Jhota murder case to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), but he should have handed over the other two cases of Gurdaspur and Sangrur for CBI probe.He was addressing the media persons here at Punjab Agricultural University on Tuesday after meeting the drug-affected families in Mansa (Parvinder Singh Jhota), Sangrur (Gulzar Singh) and Gurdaspur (Bikramjit Singh).Shah said the AAP govt was incapable of handling the drug issue, so it should leave it to the Centre, and he was assuring the people of Punjab that they would wipe out the drugs from the state and rest of India by December 31, 2029.“I would never forget this Dussehra, as I recall meetings with the families of three men from Gurdaspur, Sangrur and Mansa who were killed or driven to suicide for raising their voices against drug-related activities. Despite being an elected representative for nearly 30 years and having met families affected by several tragedies, I had never felt as saddened as I did today,” Shah said, adding that “their families are not alone. Thousands of families in Punjab who want to end this drug menace stand with them.”“Bhagwant Mann did one good thing of transferring the murder case of Mansa anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). I assure the family that the accused would be caught, irrespective of their connections, and justice will be provided. However, the cases involving the other two victims should also be handed over to the CBI, as neither people of Punjab nor BJP have trust in AAP’s investigations,” Shah added.Shah said, “Drug trafficking has increased and those fighting against drugs are being implicated in cases or murdered. Political criticism will not deter me from pursuing this serious matter.” Responding to AAP’s allegations that drugs were entering Punjab through Gujarat’s ports, Shah said narcotics worth ₹20,000 crore had been seized at ports in Gujarat and Maharashtra. He questioned how drugs continued to enter Punjab. “Such trafficking could not take place without the involvement of elements within the state government”, Shah said.The Union home minister questioned the lack of enforcement under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PIT-NDPS) Act in Punjab. “In the last one year, 929 cases have been registered under the Act across the country, but no one in Punjab had been apprehended under it. PIT-NDPS cases are non-bailable cases that allow authorities to detain individuals to stop them from engaging in the illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs,” Shah said.Shah further said that Punjab had not convened a single meeting of the Narco-Coordination Centre (NCORD) in the past two years, despite more than 48 such meetings being held by states across India.While reassuring the people of Punjab, Shah said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision is to make India and Punjab drug-free and make ‘Viksit Bharat’. People should know that BJP delivers what they say. The abrogation of Article 370, action against terrorism in the Northeast and Naxalism, and the replacement of colonial-era criminal laws as examples of commitments that BJP has fulfilled.”
