Mann govt’s war on drugs a show-off, says Tarun Chugh

BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh has criticised the Bhagwant Mann government and Aam Aadmi Party’s national convener Arvind Kejriwal over their claims of fighting drugs in Punjab.

He stated that while on one hand, Bhagwant Mann and his “rubber-stamp” government were pretending to fight the drug menace in Punjab after the AAP’s defeat in Delhi, on the other hand, they were failing to cooperate with the Central agencies in drug-related investigations despite clear orders from the High Court.

Chugh asserted that this “double standard” proved that the AAP was only misleading people of Punjab. “They do not care about the youth who are losing their lives every day due to drugs,” he said.

Chugh referred to the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s rebuke of the Punjab Government for its inaction. The court clearly stated that the Punjab Government was not only obstructing the ongoing investigations under court orders, but also acting against the public interest.

He pointed out that the High Court had strongly remarked that the CBI and NCB had sought information from the Punjab Government regarding drug-related cases in December 2024, but even after several months, the state government had failed to respond, leading to a halt in the investigation against the illegal drug trade.

Chugh added that the High Court had now given the Punjab Government a 10-day deadline to provide the required information to Central agencies and allow the investigation to proceed.

He warned that Punjab’s future was at stake due to the rampant drug crisis, but the Aam Aadmi Party was playing politics even on this serious issue. “Until the Bhagwant Mann government changed its approach and started cooperating with the Central agencies, the so-called war on drugs will remain a sham,” he stated.