Before the assembly elections to be held early next year in Punjab, the issue of drugs has once again become the most important issue. An anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota was shot dead in Mansa, Punjab yesterday, after which the issue of drug addiction is again in discussion in the entire Punjab. From Gurudwaras to social organizations and even common people have expressed concern over the ever-increasing drug addiction. In every election in Punjab, all the political parties promise to eliminate drug addiction, but till now no government has been able to perform anything special on this front.
On December 15, 2015, in a big rally organized in Bathinda on the occasion of assuming the post of Congress State President, former Chief Minister of Punjab Captain Amarinder Singh, holding the religious scripture Gutka Sahib in his hand, had promised that if he becomes the Chief Minister, he will break the back of the drug problem in four weeks. After this, in the 2017 assembly elections, Congress based its entire campaign on Shiromani Akali Dal for promoting drugs and on the promise of eradicating drug abuse if its government is formed.
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Big issue in Akali government
The drug issue in Punjab was also a major political controversy during the SAD-BJP government led by Prakash Singh Badal from 2012 to 2017. At that time the opposition had raised questions on the government regarding drug trafficking and increasing addiction among the youth. The CAG report presented in the Assembly in 2018 also exposed serious shortcomings in the investigation of drug cases. According to the report, out of 756 accused acquitted in drug-related cases in the financial year 2016-17, 532 were acquitted due to shortcomings in the police testimony. After this the government remained on the backfoot on this issue.
Change of power in 2017
When the Captain Amarinder Singh-led Congress government came to power in 2017, people expected that the government would fulfill its promise of breaking the back of the drug trade. His government initially announced to intensify action and take strict action against drug smugglers and efforts were made to establish public confidence in the government.
However, the drug problem did not end completely. Captain Amarinder Singh, who promised to break the back of drug addiction in four weeks, remained the head of the government for more than four and a half years but he could not eliminate drug addiction. In the same year, in his article in the famous newspaper The Tribune, he admitted that Punjab's anti-drug campaign remained incomplete. He said that arrests alone cannot be considered a measure of success, as it is also necessary to break the extensive network behind drug supply.
AAP's three month promise
In 2022, Aam Aadmi Party had based its campaign against the Congress government on the issue of drugs. Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann had promised that within three months of the formation of their government, the government would eliminate drug addiction. The public gave him full support and with an overwhelming majority, Bhagwant Mann became the CM of Punjab. After this, action was initiated by the government but nothing resulted.
The government kept increasing the deadline for ending drug addiction. The government started the war against drugs but its impact was not visible at the ground level. Now the Chief Minister has announced to convene a meeting of officials on October 16 to review the anti-drug campaign and law and order. However, even before this his MLAs themselves have admitted that their government has failed on the front of drug eradication.
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What next?
Assembly elections will be held in Punjab early next year and like every time, this time too drug addiction has become a big issue in Punjab. This time BJP is also going to contest elections as a big force. Amit Shah said in a rally in Punjab that form BJP government, we will make Punjab drug free by 31 December 2029. Amritpal's party is also running its election campaign on the issue of drugs. However, till now neither any political party has been able to put forward any concrete plan nor any government has been able to take any concrete action to eliminate drug addiction.