BJP’s sustained fight against drugs forced AAP to act under PIT-NDPS Act: Kewal Dhillon

PIT-NDPS Act allows for the preventive detention of drug traffickers for up to one year without bail

Chandigarh, October 24:“Looking at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its senior leaders Narendra Modi and Amit Shah’s firm stand against the drug menace and effective use of the stringent anti-drug laws to apprehend drug smugglers, Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab was forced to strengthen enforcement under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PIT-NDPS)”, Punjab BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon said on Saturday.
The BJP’s strengthened PIT-NDPS Act allows for the preventive detention of drug traffickers for up to one year without bail.

Kewal Singh Dhillon said that the AAP government’s October 21 notification, delegating preventive detention powers to senior police officers, exposed their failure to take timely and decisive action against drug traffickers despite their repeated claims to wage a war against drugs.
The union home minister, during his Punjab visit on 30 Sept. and October 20, had pointed out that 929 cases had been registered under the PIT-NDPS Act across the country in the preceding year, while Punjab had not registered a single case under the Act. 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.

“The AAP government has spent nearly five years making tall promises about eradicating drugs from Punjab, but the ground reality tells a different story. If the government was serious about dismantling drug trafficking networks, why did it fail to effectively invoke the PIT-NDPS Act? It took the intervention of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to expose these shortcomings and push the state government towards action. It was only after these remarks that AAP government thought of adopting the laws,” Dhillon said.

“BJP has consistently raised the issue of Punjab’s drug menace and demanded strict action against those involved in drug trafficking. Punjab needed a firm enforcement mechanism rather than political slogans and publicity campaigns from AAP. BJP stands firm on making Punjab drug-free by December 31, 2029, if the BJP forms the government in the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections”, Dhillon added.

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Congress Rally on November 1 Is Insensitive to the Pain of the Sikh Community: Kewal Singh Dhillon

November 1 is a day of mourning; holding a rally on this day is an affront to the sentiments of the Sikh community: Kewal Singh Dhillon

Congress and Rahul Gandhi must publicly apologise to the Sikh community for the 1984 anti-Sikh massacre and the decision to hold the rally: Dhillon

“How can Congress claim to be saving democracy while bearing the stain of the 1984 anti-Sikh massacre?” asks Kewal Singh Dhillon

Ludhiana, October 24:Punjab BJP State President Kewal Singh Dhillon has strongly condemned the Congress party’s decision to hold a rally at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi on November 1, describing the move as deeply insensitive and hurtful to the sentiments of the Sikh community.

Speaking to the media at the BJP office in Ludhiana, Dhillon said November 1 is no ordinary date for Sikhs but a day of mourning and remembrance. During the anti-Sikh violence of 1984, Sikhs were selectively targeted and killed in the streets of Delhi, gurdwaras were set ablaze, and countless families were left devastated. Thousands of Sikhs lost their lives in Delhi and other parts of the country, leaving behind grieving mothers, widows and families whose suffering continues to this day.
Those present on the occasion included State General Secretary Anil Sareen, State Treasurer Gurdev Singh Debi, State Core Committee Member Jeevan Gupta, District President Sunil Modgil and Jatinder Mittal.

Dhillon alleged that Congress had a deeply troubling record on Sikh issues, citing the attack on Darbar Sahib, the damage inflicted on Sri Akal Takht Sahib and the anti-Sikh violence of November 1984 in Delhi and other cities. He said that holding a political rally on November 1 was particularly insensitive to the pain and memories of the Sikh community.

Dhillon further stated that it took nearly four decades for many victims and their families to see meaningful progress towards justice. He credited the BJP-led government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi with taking steps to pursue justice for the victims.
Taking a swipe at Congress’s slogan, “Save the Vote, Save the Nation,” Dhillon asked, “How can a party bearing the stain of the 1984 anti-Sikh massacre claim to be the champion of democracy?”

He demanded that Congress and Rahul Gandhi publicly apologise to the Sikh community for the 1984 massacre and reconsider the decision to hold the rally on a day of mourning. He also challenged Congress to clarify whether it stands with the victims and their families or with those accused of involvement in the violence and those alleged to have shielded them.
Concluding his remarks, Dhillon said, “The Sikh community has neither forgotten nor will it ever forget the horrors of 1984. The BJP stood with the affected families in the past, stands with them today, and will continue to stand with them in the future.”

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₹30 Lakh on Nameplates: Political Publicity Prioritised Over the Needs of Schools and Students: Avinash Rai Khanna

AAP must release white paper on utilization of funds under ‘Punjab Sikhiya Kranti' campaign: Khanna

Jalandhar, October 24:Reacting to the Punjab Government’s decision to spend nearly ₹30 lakh on granite plaques bearing the names of political leaders at 599 government schools, former Rajya Sabha Member and senior BJP leader Avinash Rai Khanna on Saturday criticised the AAP government for prioritising political publicity over the genuine needs of students and schools.

Khanna said the decision to spend public money on plaques carrying the names of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains and local MLAs shows the government’s priorities.

“The AAP government came to power promising a transformation of Punjab’s education system. However, spending nearly ₹30 lakh on plaques displaying the names of political leaders on name of ‘Punjab Sikhiya Kranti', actually shows that the government is more concerned about projecting its image rather than addressing the actual needs of government schools,” Khanna said.
“The government must ensure that every rupee of taxpayers’ money delivers tangible benefits to students and teachers. Inaugurating development projects was a part of governance, but turning such occasions into exercises in political branding defeated the purpose of public expenditure”, Khanna added.
The BJP leader further added, “People of Punjab deserve an education system that deliver measurable improvements in learning outcomes, infrastructure and opportunities for children, rather than announcements and publicity campaigns. Punjab government must release white paper on utilization of funds under ‘Punjab Sikhiya Kranti' campaign, so that people of Punjab can know their true face.”

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No specialist doctor recruited since 2022, is this the Sehat Kranti ?: Shwait Malik

Amritsar, 24 October 2026-Senior Punjab BJP leader and former Member of Rajya Sabha Shwait Malik today targeted the AAP government and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann over the collapsing healthcare system in Punjab. In Amritsar on Saturday, Malik said government hospitals in the state are functioning without specialist doctors. He said the government opened Aam Aadmi Clinics in the name of Delhi model, but emptied the major hospitals.

Citing the health department's own figures, he said nearly 1000 out of 2098 sanctioned posts of specialist doctors are vacant in the state. Malik said the crisis aggravated because the government has not made a single regular recruitment of specialists since 2022.

"The Chief Minister who talks about a health revolution must answer why no recruitment has been done till date," he said. He said the shortage is most severe in surgery, gynaecology, paediatrics and anaesthesia.
Due to this, the government had to hire 78 retired specialists on a one-year contract in October 2025, and their contract is now set to expire in November 2026.
After that, those posts will again fall vacant and the crisis will worsen, he said. Malik asked what roadmap the government has to fill these posts. He said the Chief Minister claims in ads that treatment is free, but asked who will treat if there are no doctors in the hospital.
He demanded a white paper on recruitments. He warned that if the situation does not improve, Punjab BJP will stage protests outside hospitals at the district level.

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Sunil Jakhar reaches Mansa to pay homage to Parvinder Singh Jhota’s sacrifice

Need to ensure the safety of those raising their voices against drugs in Punjab: Sunil Jakhar

Appeals to the CBI to also investigate the drug inspector posted at headquarters, whom he calls the government’s “cash cow”

Mansa, October 24: Former Punjab BJP President Sunil Jakhar, while paying tribute to Parvinder Singh Jhota in Mansa today, said that Jhota had a deep commitment to society and that he had come to honour the campaign Jhota had launched against drugs. He said Parvinder Singh Jhota had sown the seeds of an anti-drug movement that even Punjab, collectively, had been unable to take forward effectively.

Sunil Jakhar said that people across Punjab were making every possible effort at their own level to fight drugs. Expressing grief, he said that alongside deaths caused by drug overdoses, the safety of those speaking out against drugs had also become a serious concern. He said the campaign launched by Parvinder Singh Jhota had given a new direction to the fight against drugs. Its purpose was not to target anyone, but to save Punjab from the scourge of drugs. However, Parvinder had to sacrifice his life in this struggle.

He said alarming conditions prevailed in every village of Punjab. While some people were losing their lives to drugs, others were being killed for fighting against them, and gangsters were targeting people elsewhere. He said Punjab’s youth, future generations and the state’s future were in danger, yet the Bhagwant Mann government appeared unable to address these serious issues.

Questioning the Chief Minister for speaking in the Assembly about being stopped at an airport instead of raising Parvinder Singh Jhota’s case, Jakhar said Bhagwant Mann was unconcerned about the problems and suffering of Punjab’s people, but was lamenting why he had been stopped for checks at the airport. He said that if government ministers did not even reach out to hear people’s grievances, it raised serious questions about democratic accountability. He called it shameful that, despite so many days having passed, no government minister had come forward to speak with the family.

Sunil Jakhar said those who came from Delhi to run Punjab could not understand or appreciate the self-respect, spirit and struggles of its people. He said violence and turmoil prevailed across Punjab, the future of young people was at stake, and farmers’ crops were languishing in the markets. Under such circumstances, he said, the government had a responsibility to resolve people’s problems and bring Punjab out of this crisis.

He said understanding people’s feelings and listening to their voices was the government’s fundamental responsibility. Praising the courage of those fighting against drugs, he said the safety of people stepping forward to protect society must be ensured.

On this occasion, Sunil Jakhar appealed to the CBI to widen the scope of its investigations into drug-related cases and examine the role of the drug inspector posted at headquarters, so that every aspect could be investigated impartially and anyone found guilty could face action under the law. He alleged that the drug inspector responsible for introducing drugs into Mansa, whom the government had earlier arrested in a major corruption case, had now been turned into its “cash cow” and posted at headquarters by the same Mann government. He said an investigation into the inspector would reveal several major secrets.

He said the true purpose of paying tribute to Parvinder Singh Jhota was to strengthen the resolve to make Punjab drug-free. He saluted Jhota’s father and wife for continuing the struggle to save Punjab from drugs despite their unbearable grief, and said he stood firmly with the family.

Sunil Jakhar said that AAP legislators might be bonded labourers, but Punjab was not. He said Punjab was watching everything and would hold them accountable when the time came.