AAP govt has ditched people, says Opposition as Bathinda villagers flag drug sale

The Opposition parties on Monday accused the state’s AAP government of “abandoning” people in the struggle against drugs after residents of a Bathinda village painted graffiti at several spots pointing towards the houses of people involved in the rampant sale of heroin.

Meanwhile, Bathinda SSP Amneet Kondal claimed massive action against drug peddlers under the government’s Yudh Nashian Virudh drive, which was launched on March 1 against the menace.

Fed up with alleged rampant sale of heroin, residents of Maur Kalan had written on village walls that “chitta is sold openly here”.

After learning about it, a police team rushed to the village and painted over the wall writings. Slamming the government, Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly Partap Singh Bajwa shared the The Tribune’s news report on X, saying the incident was the “darkest indictment” of CM Bhagwant Mann’s “collapsing governance” and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal’s “hollow slogans”.

“When people have to become whistleblowers, it shows the state has abandoned them. Punjab didn’t vote for a government that lets its youth die. We deserve better,” said Bajwa, a Congress leader. State Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring also posted on X, “When the whole village is forced to write that ‘Chitta sold openly here’ on its walls, it means people have completely lost faith in the AAP government that promised change.”

Shiromani Akali Dal leader and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal said the incident showed the ground reality.

“Instead of catching drug sellers, government employees covered it (grafitti) with black paint, which shows the government’s intention. Bhagwant Mann, instead of making big speeches from stages, should save Punjab’s youth who are dying due to drugs,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Bathinda SSP said they had lodged 1,516 FIRs and arrested 2,232 people since March 1 under the war against drugs.

Kondal said during the period, the police seized 56.5 kg of heroin, 18 kg of opium, 30 quintals of poppy husk, 1.43 lakh intoxicant tablets, 176 syrup bottles, 20.5 of kg ‘ganja’, and Rs 32.19 lakh drug money. She said the district police conducted 101 cordon and search operations, during which 153 FIRs were registered and 223 arrested.