Amit Shah to visit Punjab; the drug threat again in the spotlight

Union Home Minister Amit Shah condoles Bhim Singh, father of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota, at Manse on October 20, 2026. | Photo credit: ANI

The drug menace in Punjab, which has remained in the limelight for more than a decade, is once again emerging as a key poll issue ahead of the 2027 assembly elections.

On Tuesday (October 20, 2026), Union Home Minister Amit Shah traveled to Punjab and met the families of those who lost their lives recently after speaking out against the drug menace. Hours before his visit, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government announced that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was investigating the murder of Parminder Singh Jhota, an anti-drug crusader who was murdered in Mansa on 13 October. Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann said his government had forwarded its demand firmly to the CBI’s request in the Jhota case.

The AAP and the police have so far maintained that Jhota’s murder stemmed from “personal enmity”, even as Jhota’s family demanded a CBI probe. Reacting to the development, Mr. Shah said, “This morning when Bhagwant Mann ji came after his birthday celebration, he did a good thing by handing over the CBI investigation. I also want to appeal to the Chief Minister, please hand over the other two cases to the CBI.”

At a press conference in Ludhiana, Mr. Shah took a dig at the AAP government after meeting the families. “In Gurdaspur, Bikramjit Singh, in Sangrur Gurdas Singh and in Mansa district, Parvinder Singh Jota – all three were killed or had to commit suicide because of the war on drugs. I met their families and I have never been so upset. Meeting these family members and people who were tormented and tormented by what they described, the situation in Punjab was much more disturbing than what we read in the newspaper reports earlier in Delhi,” he said.

The home minister accused the AAP government of not doing anything concrete to eradicate the drug menace. “I have come to remind the Punjab government and its leaders that you promised to end the drug business within three months. But five years have passed and the business is growing day by day,” he said.

Political patronage

“They are accusing us (AAP) of saying drugs are coming from Gujarat and Maharashtra ports. We have seized drugs worth ₹20,000 crore so far. What do they mean? Shouldn’t we be seizing them? But how do these drugs reach Punjab? Without political support, it is not possible. Drug trade and drug trade have failed in each and every village.”

Mr. Mann accused Mr. Shah of playing politics in the matter. “Home Minister Amit Shah is welcome to visit Punjab whenever he wants. But BJP is promoting that it has come to save Punjab and make it drug-free. I have a few questions for the Home Minister. When your government was in power in collaboration with Akali Dal from 2007 to 2017 and the drug problem turned into a major crisis which was related to drug investigation in Punjab. then why didn’t you intervene?” he asked in a statement.

Published – 20 Oct 2026 13:44 IST