AAP leader Baltej Pannu calls BJP's Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra political nautanki

AAP leader Baltej Pannu has attacked the BJP's Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra as political nautanki. He said the party must answer for its 2007-17 record and stop singling out Punjab on drugs.

Punjab AAP leader Baltej Pannu on Thursday attacked the BJP over its upcoming 'Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra', calling it "political nautanki" and asking why the party did not run a similar campaign when it was part of the Punjab government between 2007 and 2017. He said that was the period when 'chitta', or synthetic drugs, emerged and spread across the state.

Pannu also accused the BJP of selectively targeting Punjab on the drugs issue while staying silent on other "drug-affected" states, including neighbouring Haryana. He said if the party was serious about the problem, it should address it at the national level instead of using it to defame Punjab.

Pannu, the state unit's media in-charge, said, "Every effort against drugs is welcome, but the BJP must first answer for its own record. The BJP was a partner in the Punjab government from 2007 to 2017, precisely during the period when the menace of 'chitta' (synthetic drugs) emerged and spread across Punjab." He added, "Today, the same BJP is undertaking a 'Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra'. Why did the BJP not undertake any yatra, campaign or sustained pressure against drugs when it was itself in the government?"

He alleged that the impact of the drug crisis during that period was severe. "Young people were dying from overdoses, which were often described publicly as 'silent heart attacks'. The situation had reached a stage where even de-addiction facilities for women had to be opened during the Akali-BJP government. Where was the BJP's concern for Punjab's youth at that time?" he asked.

Pannu said a recent report mentioned 73 ultra-sensitive districts, of which six were in Punjab. He said several other districts named in the report were in other states, but the BJP continued to centre its political narrative only on Punjab. "If the BJP is genuinely concerned about drugs, it should address the entire national drug problem instead of using the issue to defame Punjab. Why is the BJP silent about the drug situation in states where it is in power? Why is Punjab being selectively targeted?" he asked.

He also said that all sensitive districts in Punjab were border districts under the Border Security Force and that the BJP should explain what it was doing to stop drugs from entering the state. Referring to what he called the situation on the ground, Pannu said Punjab's growing sporting culture was visible in more than 25,000 young people taking part in the Bathinda run, while 3,100 sports grounds had been built across the state and around 750 of them had already been dedicated to the public.

The BJP's 'Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra' is scheduled to begin on September 18. BJP president Nitin Nabin will flag it off from Pathankot, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah will address its culmination in Jalandhar on September 30. The row centres on whether the campaign is a genuine anti-drugs effort or, as Pannu alleged, a political move aimed only at Punjab.