Chandigarh, July 25: Congress MLA and AICC Secretary Padmashree Pargat Singh launched a fierce attack on the BJP, accusing the party of running a “deliberate campaign to defame Punjab and Sikhs” over the drug issue while condemning BJP MP Kangana Ranaut’s statement blaming Punjab for the drug problem in Himachal Pradesh, Pargat Singh said, “Her comment is factless, divisive, and rooted in an anti-Punjab mindset. This is not ignorance—it is a strategy.”
Speaking at Punjab Bhawan, Pargat said the BJP was targeting an entire community for political mileage. “Kangana’s statement reflects the BJP’s deeper design to blame Punjabis and Sikhs. Blaming Punjab alone for Himachal’s drug issue is not just wrong—it’s part of a poisonous narrative meant to vilify an entire state and its people,” he said.
Demanding a public apology, he said, “Kangana Ranaut must withdraw her statement immediately and apologise to the people of Punjab. This is not about party politics—it’s about Punjab’s honour, truth, and dignity. The BJP must tell the nation whether it endorses her words.”
Accusing the BJP of selective outrage, Pargat Singh questioned its silence on drug seizures from Gujarat. “Over ₹21,000 crore worth of drugs have been seized from Gujarat ports. Why is there no accountability? Why doesn’t Kangana question the Gujarat government or Prime Minister Modi?” he asked, adding that “if Punjab is being blamed for a national crisis, then we must also ask why Gujarat, where the biggest drug hauls are happening, is being protected.”
“Punjab is the victim of this drug epidemic, not the source,” Pargat said firmly. “For decades, our youth have suffered, our families have cried, and our state has struggled—on the streets and in the courts—to fight this poison. We’re paying the price every single day. To blame us is to spit on those sacrifices.”
He also slammed the BJP for hypocrisy. “When it comes to seeking votes, they remember Punjab’s sacrifices. But when it’s time to take responsibility, Punjab is the first state they vilify,” he said. “This is nothing but political opportunism of the worst kind.”
Calling the BJP’s campaign “dishonest and dangerous,” he urged its leadership to stop spreading “lies, hatred and division” and instead “rise above petty politics if they genuinely care about national unity.”
