Union Home Minister Amit Shah spent Dussehra in Punjab on Tuesday, October 20, meeting the families of three men whose deaths have become part of the state's long-running fight over drugs. After stops in Gurdaspur, Sangrur and Mansa, he told reporters in Ludhiana that he had "never felt so deeply saddened in life" and sharpened his attack on the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government.
It was Shah's second visit to Punjab in about 20 days, and it comes with the state heading into Assembly elections early next year. Drugs are set to be one of the biggest issues in that campaign, and the BJP has made it clear it wants to put the ruling party on the defensive.
Three families, three districts
Shah's day was built around home visits rather than rallies. According to reports from the visit, these were the families he met:
- Gurdaspur (Mari Panwan village, near Batala): the family of Bikramjit Singh, 40, who was killed on October 15. Villagers have said he was targeted for opposing drug peddling, while police have said the killing followed a scuffle between two groups over a mobile phone. Shah posted on X that he had met the family at their residence and offered condolences.
- Sangrur (Turbanjara village): the family of Gulzar Singh, who died on September 7. His family alleges he was harassed after he questioned state Finance Minister Harpal Cheema about drug supply in his area, and has demanded a CBI probe and action against the minister.
- Mansa: the family of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota, who was shot inside a medical store on October 13. The store owner accused in the case was taken into custody in Rajasthan. Jhota's father, Bhim Singh, said Shah assured the family of justice.
Hours before Shah reached Mansa, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced that the Jhota murder case would be handed over to the CBI. BJP leader Sunil Jakhar said CBI officers would meet the family on Wednesday.
What Amit Shah said
Speaking in Ludhiana, Shah said the accounts he heard from the families had shaken him. "The situation of Punjab, which was described by them, shook us," he said. He insisted that he had come to offer comfort to grieving families and had no political agenda – but he did not hold back on the state government.
He reminded voters that AAP had promised to wipe out the drug trade within three months of coming to power, and said it had instead kept growing. "Except excuses, I have not heard any answer from them till today," Shah said, calling the Mann government an "Aapda" (disaster) government. He repeated the Centre's target of eradicating the drug trade in Punjab by December 31, 2029.
In a post on X, he wrote that the "growing drug menace in Punjab and the rising audacity of drug traffickers have raised serious questions about the functioning of the AAP government", adding that the Centre is "committed to making Punjab, and the entire country, drug-free".
AAP hits back
AAP was quick to respond even before Shah arrived. The party's Punjab unit president, Aman Arora, asked the Home Minister to answer questions about drugs being smuggled from Pakistan into Punjab and about narcotics coming in through a Gujarat port, instead of "engaging in political rhetoric". The Punjab government maintains that it is running an extensive campaign against drug trafficking in the state.
Key facts at a glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Date of visit | Tuesday, October 20, 2026 (Dussehra) |
| Districts visited | Gurdaspur, Sangrur, Mansa; media address in Ludhiana |
| Families met | Bikramjit Singh, Gulzar Singh, Parvinder Singh Jhota |
| Centre's target | Drug trade in Punjab eradicated by December 31, 2029 |
| Jhota case | CM Bhagwant Mann announced transfer to the CBI |
| Dussehra event | Ravan Dahan at Daresi grounds, Ludhiana |
| Next Punjab election | Assembly polls due early next year |
Why this matters for Punjab
Drug abuse has shaped Punjab's politics for more than a decade, and every major party has promised to end it. What makes this moment different is that the deaths of people who spoke out against local peddlers have triggered protests across the state, and families are now openly asking for central agencies to step in. That gives the BJP, which has never been a dominant force on its own in Punjab, an emotional issue to campaign on.
For AAP, which swept the state in 2022 partly on the promise of cleaning up the drug trade, the challenge is to show results before voters go to the polls. Its decision to move the Jhota case to the CBI shows it is aware of the pressure.
What happens next
Shah's programme ended with the Vijayadashami celebrations at Ludhiana's Daresi grounds, where the Ravan Dahan was billed as a symbolic burning of the "Ravana of drugs". The next steps to watch are the CBI's handling of the Jhota case, any decision on the Sangrur family's demand for a central probe, and how both parties take the drug issue to voters as the 2027 Assembly campaign picks up.
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