Punjab Newsline | Chandigarh
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab president and Cabinet Minister Aman Arora on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), holding their 2007-2017 rule responsible for pushing Punjab into the grip of drugs.
He urged people not to allow the two parties to return to power, asserting that the state could not afford to revisit the dark days that devastated its youth and families.
Welcoming the Punjab Vigilance Bureau's filing of a 40,000-page chargesheet against SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia and two other accused, Arora said the investigation had uncovered a financial network involving 10 companies and transactions worth ₹736.96 crore. He credited Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann's government with pursuing the case against influential figures and taking the fight against drugs and corruption to the courts.
Addressing a press conference, Arora said it was ironic that SAD and BJP leaders were raising the issue of drugs despite their record in government.
"During their ten years in power, from 2007 to 2017, chitta spread across Punjab, countless families suffered, and thousands of mothers lost their sons to addiction. The people of Punjab have not forgotten those dark years, and they must not fall for the renewed political ambitions of the same parties," he said.
Targeting Majithia, Arora said the chargesheet represented a significant step towards bringing the financial transactions under investigation before the court. He questioned the source of the alleged wealth and called for accountability, saying the people of Punjab deserved answers about how such wealth had been accumulated.
Referring to Majithia's reported links with alleged drug traffickers Satpreet Singh alias ‘Satta’ and Parminder Singh alias ‘Pindi’, Arora said their names had figured in public discussions surrounding the drug case. He also referred to statements attributed to Jagdish Bhola, who had named influential people in connection with the case.
"The investigation must establish the facts, and everyone found responsible must face the law, regardless of political influence or position," Arora said.
Congratulating Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, the AAP leader said the government was committed to ensuring that influential people were held accountable through the legal process.
"I congratulate CM Bhagwant Singh Mann for ensuring that the investigation has reached the court and that powerful people are being made to answer for their actions. Unlike previous governments, which failed to bring influential figures to account, the Mann government is pursuing the fight against drugs and corruption. No one should receive political protection, and no one should be above the law," he said.
Arora also criticised the previous Congress government over its promise to eliminate drugs from Punjab. Recalling former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh's 2017 oath on Gutka Sahib to eradicate the drug menace, he alleged that the Congress government had failed to fulfil its commitment.
He further referred to Congress leaders' descriptions of the relationship between Amarinder Singh and Majithia as "chacha-bhatija", questioning why the drug problem had persisted despite the promises made to the people.
Turning to cross-border drug smuggling, Arora said the Mann government had strengthened border surveillance, deployed drones and increased patrolling to prevent narcotics from entering Punjab. However, he stressed that identifying the wider supply chain and those operating it remained crucial to tackling the problem.
"The larger question remains: where are the consignments coming from, and who is operating the supply networks?" he said.
Referring to major heroin seizures, including consignments of around 3,000 kg at Gujarat ports, Arora said such recoveries raised serious questions about the routes used to transport drugs and the networks facilitating their movement.
"The entire chain, from production and wholesale distribution to retail supply, must be investigated. Those responsible for destroying the lives of Punjab's youth must be brought to justice," he said.
Arora also accused the SAD and BJP of seeking to dislodge the AAP government and restore political and financial networks that, according to him, had flourished under previous regimes. He urged voters to judge political parties by their record in government rather than their election-time statements.
Warning against a return to the previous political dispensation, he said Punjab had already experienced the consequences of SAD-BJP rule and should not repeat the same mistake.
"The same parties that presided over ten years of governance are once again seeking power. Punjab cannot afford to return to a period in which drugs devastated families and the state's youth paid the price," he said.
Appealing to Punjabis to reject the SAD-BJP alliance, Arora said every vote would be crucial in determining the state's future.
"Our youth, our families and our state cannot afford another return to those dark days," he said.
Concluding his remarks, Arora said the Mann government had spent nearly five years working to protect Punjab's youth, combat drug abuse and build a ‘Rangla Punjab’. He maintained that sustained action against drug networks, along with political will and accountability, was essential to securing a better future for the state.
The allegations against Majithia and the other accused remain subject to judicial proceedings. The filing of a chargesheet does not, by itself, establish guilt.
