News Desk: Congress leader and party in-charge for Punjab, Sachin Pilot, has criticised both the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab and the BJP-led government at the Centre over the growing drug menace in the state. He alleged that synthetic drugs, commonly known as “chitta”, were reaching people’s homes faster than pizza or soft drinks.
“People in Punjab say that if you want to order pizza or a Coke, it takes half an hour or 40 minutes, but one can call and get ‘chitta’ home delivered faster,” Pilot said, according to news agency PTI.
Pilot claimed that Punjab was facing an alarming supply of synthetic and chemical drugs, alleging that consignments were entering the state from across the Pakistan border. He questioned the Centre’s efforts to tackle cross-border trafficking and asked what the Union Home Ministry had been doing to prevent the spread of narcotics.
Referring to the seizure of cocaine worth ₹21,000 crore at Gujarat’s Mundra Port, Pilot argued that the scale of the seizure raised serious questions about the quantity of drugs that might have entered the country.
He also alleged that the distribution of drugs from the border to villages and neighbourhoods could not continue without the involvement of organised networks linking sections of the police, administration and political establishment. These claims were part of his criticism of the authorities’ handling of the crisis.
Pilot targets Bhagwant Mann government
The Congress leader also accused the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government of failing to control drug addiction in Punjab. He recalled the government’s earlier promise to eliminate the drug menace within two months and claimed that the situation had worsened instead.
Pilot expressed concern over reports and visuals of young people struggling with addiction. He also referred to the emergence of dangerous synthetic substances and questioned whether the growing number of de-addiction centres was translating into effective treatment for those affected.
Law and order under scrutiny
Pilot further criticised the state government over the law-and-order situation, citing incidents involving attacks on police stations and shootings targeting police personnel.
He linked the alleged deterioration in security to the influence of drug-related money and criminal networks, arguing that the problem extended beyond addiction and posed a wider challenge to governance and public safety.
The BJP has also spoken about making Punjab drug-free, a commitment Pilot questioned in view of the continuing concerns over trafficking.
The AAP government, meanwhile, has dismissed opposition criticism of its handling of drugs and law and order as politically motivated.
With the drug crisis remaining a major political issue in Punjab, Pilot’s remarks have renewed the debate over accountability, cross-border trafficking, policing and the effectiveness of efforts to prevent drug addiction.
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