Amit Shah to Visit Punjab on October 20, Meet Families of Drug-Related Victims

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Punjab on October 20 to meet the families of three people who recently died in incidents linked to the state's drug menace. During his visit, Shah will travel to Mansa, Sangrur and Gurdaspur, where he is expected to meet families who have raised concerns about drug trafficking and its impact on local communities.

Shah accused the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of allowing Punjab to slide deeper into the drug crisis, alleging that its policies and actions had contributed to the loss of young lives. In a Hindi post on X on Sunday, he said numerous families had lost their children because of the growing menace.

The Union Home Minister said the families had suffered immense grief and asserted that attempts to silence people speaking out against the drug trade would not succeed. He also promised that the Central government would intensify action against drug peddlers and continue its efforts until Punjab and the rest of the country were freed from the menace.

According to BJP sources, Shah will visit Mansa to meet the family of Parvinder Singh Jhota, an anti-drug activist who was shot dead on October 13. The incident allegedly occurred after Jhota questioned a medical store owner over the sale of addictive drugs to an elderly man. The accused store owner, Ashwani Kumar, was subsequently arrested.

In Sangrur district, Shah will meet the family of Gulzar Singh, a resident of Dirba who died by suicide on September 7. His family alleged that he consumed poison after facing harassment and casteist slurs for questioning Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema about the supply of drugs in his locality.

The Home Minister will also visit Gurdaspur to meet the family of a 40-year-old man who was killed on October 16. Villagers claimed that the man was targeted for opposing drug peddling in his area. However, police said the murder stemmed from a scuffle between two groups over a mobile phone.

On October 16, Shah had said the Centre would seek an explanation from the Punjab government regarding the deaths of Jhota and Gulzar Singh. The incidents have intensified political debate over the state's efforts to tackle drug trafficking and protect people who speak out against it.

BJP leader Ravneet Singh Bittu, who announced Shah's visit in a post on X, said Punjab needed decisive action, strong leadership and a firm commitment to safeguarding its youth. He accused the AAP government of losing its public mandate before completing its term and appealed to Punjabis to support the BJP's mission to make the state drug-free.

Shah's upcoming visit will be his second to poll-bound Punjab within 20 days. During his September 30 visit to Jalandhar, he addressed a rally marking the conclusion of the BJP's 'Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra' and met families affected by the drug menace. He had accused the AAP government of allowing the open sale of 'chitta', a term commonly used for synthetic drugs, and promised to eliminate the problem if the BJP came to power.

With Punjab Assembly elections scheduled for 2027, the drug issue has become a major political battleground. Shah has pledged that the BJP would make Punjab drug-free by December 2029 if elected to power, placing the issue at the centre of the party's campaign.