Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday, 23 October fired back at Union Home Minister Amit Shah, rejecting Shah's assertion that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) would be voted out of Punjab in upcoming Assembly elections, while making the incendiary claim that Gujarat has become the country's 'biggest supplier' of drugs. The remarks, made to reporters in Chandigarh, escalated an already charged political exchange between the Centre and Punjab's AAP government over the state's drug crisis.

Mann's Counter-Strike on Shah's Ouster Remarks

Home Minister Shah had, on Thursday, targeted the Punjab government and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal, declaring that the party would be 'wiped out' of the state in the next elections and that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would form government and eradicate Punjab's drug menace by 2029. Mann was unequivocal in his rebuttal. 'The government will not be formed according to Amit Shah's wishes. It will be formed according to the wishes of the 3.25 crore people of Punjab,' he said.

The Gujarat Drug Supplier Allegation

Mann's sharpest salvo was directed at Gujarat — the political home base of both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Shah. He alleged that drug consignments of 3,000 kg had been arriving at ports, pointing to the Gujarat government's own admission of seizing drugs worth ₹20,000 crore as evidence. 'They themselves have admitted that they seized drugs worth ₹20,000 crore. So why are drugs coming from there?' he said. Mann acknowledged that drones are used for cross-border drug trafficking into Punjab from across the border, but questioned how narcotics were reaching Indian ports in such volumes, arguing that customs procedures and port security should have intercepted them. 'If consignments of 3,000 kg are arriving at the ports, it means Gujarat has become the biggest supplier today,' he alleged.

Akali Dal-BJP Cited for Punjab's Drug Roots

Mann further alleged that the foundations of Punjab's drug crisis were laid during the Akali Dal-BJP coalition government that ruled the state from 2007 to 2017. He claimed that 'big smugglers had named several senior ministers' from that era, and that conversations about compromise were reportedly ongoing. The allegation is part of a long-standing AAP narrative seeking to pin the origins of Punjab's drug problem on its predecessors rather than its own tenure.

Jhota Murder Case and Assembly Opposition Protest

Responding to questions about the Opposition's protest inside the Punjab Assembly over the killing of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota, Mann dismissed the walkout as political theatre. 'They have no other issues. They only want to create a ruckus. First, they say the Assembly is not convened, and when it is convened, they boycott it,' he said, adding that democratic debate required participation, not disruption. Home Minister Shah had earlier, on Tuesday, visited Mansa — where Jhota was allegedly murdered for raising his voice against drugs — and met the family for approximately 20 minutes, assuring them that justice would be delivered. The Jhota case has added a charged human dimension to what is otherwise a high-voltage political confrontation.

What Comes Next

The exchange signals that the drug issue will be a central battleground in the next Punjab Assembly elections. With both the AAP government and the BJP-led Centre trading accusations of complicity or negligence, the political stakes around policing, port security, and cross-border trafficking are set to intensify. How Punjab's electorate weighs these competing narratives could shape the state's political trajectory heading into the next poll cycle.