Atul Sharma
Early Times Report
Jammu, Oct 20: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday met the families of two men who, he said, paid with their lives for raising their voices against Punjab’s drug trade, and used the visits to launch a sharp attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, vowing that a BJP government would end the “chitta” menace in the state.
In a series of posts on X, Shah said he met the family of the late Gulzar Singh at Toor Banjara village in Sangrur. He said the drug trade in Punjab has preyed on the youth and pushed the state’s future into darkness, while leaving mothers, sisters and daughters with a wound that will never heal. Gulzar Singh, who fought against the drug trade, was put under so much pressure that he took his own life, Shah alleged. “What this family has lost can never be made up,” he said.
Shah also visited the residence of the late Vikramjit Singh in Gurdaspur and expressed condolences to his family. Vikramjit Singh, he said, lost his life for speaking out against the drug trade that had run unchecked under the AAP government. Shah prayed that the family be given strength to bear the loss.
Turning his fire on the state governm Drug trade in Punjab has preyed on the youth and pushed the state’s future into darkness.
It has left mothers, sisters and daughters with a wound that will never heal.
Gulzar Singh, who fought against the drug trade, was put under so much pressure that he took his own life.
What this family has lost can never be made up.
The growing web of drugs and the boldness of traffickers, Shah said, have raised serious questions about the functioning of the AAP government. Under the Bhagwant Mann government, he alleged, Punjab’s youth are falling prey to drugs while those who speak up against the trade are not safe. He reiterated the commitment to make Punjab and the whole country drug-free and secure the future of its youth.
Gulzar Singh, from Sangrur district, died after allegedly consuming poison, with his family claiming he was harassed and subjected to casteist slurs after questioning Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema at an event.
Shah has earlier said the Centre will seek the Punjab government’s response over his death and the killing of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota in Mansa. Shah has been campaigning on the drug issue ahead of the Assembly polls, and at a rally in Jalandhar on September 30 he said Punjab would be made drug-free by the end of 2029. |