Jalandhar: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday launched the second phase of the ‘War Against Drugs’ campaign in Jalandhar. The programme is being held at Lovely Professional University.
Addressing the gathering, Kejriwal said it was a moment of great satisfaction as the second phase was being launched after the success of the first. He said the first phase of the campaign began on March 1, 2025, with a clear intent to eliminate drugs. “Such a campaign has not been carried out in this manner in any other state. Drugs are not sold only in Punjab; they are sold in Haryana, Delhi and Gujarat as well, but governments there have done nothing,” he said.
Kejriwal said drug abuse spread across Punjab during the tenure of the Shiromani Akali Dal government, alleging that its leaders were involved in the drug trade. He added that the subsequent Congress government led by Captain Amarinder Singh had promised to eradicate drugs within 60 days but failed to deliver.
Claiming strong action by the AAP government, Kejriwal said around 28,000 NDPS cases were registered in a year. “These are not fake cases. There is an 88 percent conviction rate in these cases. Around 42,000 drug smugglers have been arrested, including nearly 350 big fish. No other state has acted at this scale,” he said.
He said action was taken at the village and locality level, with properties of drug smugglers demolished using bulldozers. “People were afraid even to take certain names. The police and administration were scared. It was the courage of the Aam Aadmi Party that put such people behind bars,” he said.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, in his address, said Punjab was often unfairly targeted. Recalling a North Zone Council meeting, Mann said leaders from other states referred to Punjab as their “elder brother” while demanding resources. “I told them you keep looting the elder brother. We don’t have coal or oil, otherwise you would have demanded a share in that too. We don’t even have enough water left,” he said.
Meanwhile, Special DGP (Law and Order) Arpit Shukla said the second phase of the campaign had formally begun. He said 19,500 district and ward-level committees have been formed, with around 50,000 members working alongside Punjab Police and the government. During the first phase, 55,400 meetings were held to spread awareness among the public.
Shukla said a total of 29,980 NDPS cases have been registered so far and 358 major drug traffickers arrested, effectively breaking supply chains. He added that efforts were also made to reduce demand, with nearly 90,000 youths giving up drugs and starting a new life.
