New Delhi, June 15 (IANS) BJP national spokesperson R.P. Singh on Monday launched a sharp attack on the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab, alleging that its promises to eradicate the drug menace have failed to translate into results on the ground.

Taking to social media platform X with the hashtag #BhagwantMannFailed, Singh claimed that the state government’s assurances had “collapsed under the weight of Punjab’s devastating ground reality”.

“The hollow promises of the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government have officially collapsed under the weight of Punjab’s devastating ground reality. An administration that rode to power on the back of loud, theatrical claims to wipe out the drug menace within months has instead governance failure,” Singh said.

Highlighting the situation in Kotkapura’s Ram Basti, Singh alleged that several families have been forced to put up “House for Sale” signs outside their homes due to the growing drug problem in the area.

“​The sheer helplessness of ordinary citizens under this regime is laid bare in Kotkapura’s Ram Basti, regular, law-abiding families have been forced to put up “House for Sale” posters on their walls,” he said.

He further said that this isn’t an economic migration; it is a desperate flight for survival.

“​This isn’t an economic migration; it is a desperate flight for survival. Under Bhagwant Mann’s watch, open drug trafficking has become so rampant that parents are willing to sell their ancestral homes at half-market price just to rescue their children from the omnipresent grip of “Chitta,” the BJP leader said.

The BJP leader further accused the local administration of downplaying the issue and attempting to portray it as a private matter rather than addressing the larger concerns surrounding drug abuse.

“Instead of protecting these families, the administrative machinery behaves like an extension of the PR wing – with local police attempting to minimise the tragedy as a mere “private dispute” to shield the government from political embarrassment,” he said.

Referring to a recent incident in Hoshiarpur Central Jail, Singh claimed that an inmate had allegedly conducted a live video broadcast from inside the prison while displaying synthetic narcotics and making serious allegations against prison officials.

“The rot runs from the streets straight into the highest security zones of the state, an inmate in Hoshiarpur Central Jail was able to run a live video broadcast from behind bars, openly flaunting synthetic narcotics like “ICE” (methamphetamine) and alleging that prison officials themselves are running the supply lines,” he said.

Singh also criticised the state government’s ‘Yudh Nashiyan Virudh’ campaign, describing it as ineffective and alleging that drug networks continue to operate unchecked across the state.

“​When international cartels and local peddlers can effortlessly stream their operations from inside government-run Jails, it’s clear that the state’s much-hyped “Yudh Nashiya Virudh” (War Against Drugs) campaign is nothing but a toothless media gimmick,” he said.

Singh further said Punjab requires decisive governance and concrete action rather than “empty rhetoric and publicity-driven initiatives” to address the challenges facing the state.

“The AAP government promised a structural revolution, but it has only delivered a tragic status quo where drug lords operate with absolute impunity while ordinary citizens live in terror. From street corners in Faridkot to high-security barracks in Hoshiarpur, the state machinery under Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has completely surrendered the state’s youth to the narcotics mafia. Punjab doesn’t need more empty rhetoric, comedy-hour deflection, or staged photo-ops. It needs a government that actually governs,” he said.

–IANS

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