Chandigarh, Feb 25: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has launched a sharp critique against Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal, asserting that the foundations of the drug trade and gangsterism were established during the Akali-BJP tenure from 2007 to 2017. Baltej Pannu, AAP Punjab’s State Media In-charge, stated that the SAD leader’s recent vow to declare drug traffickers as “terrorists” is a cruel joke on the people of the state.
Addressing a press conference in Chandigarh on Wednesday, Pannu declared that the “chitta” epidemic reached its peak under the previous regime’s patronage. He maintained that criminals who once roamed freely in government-protected vehicles eventually evolved into the gangsters troubling the state today. The media in-charge noted that before 2007, the concept of organized gangsterism was virtually unknown in Punjab.
“The sin of pushing an entire generation of Punjab into the swamp of drugs lies on Sukhbir Singh Badal’s head,” Pannu asserted. He further stated that during the Akali rule, police efforts to apprehend smugglers were frequently thwarted by ministerial interventions and political recommendations.
Pannu also referenced the 2015 sacrilege incidents and the subsequent Kotkapura firing, reminding the public that the SAD leadership is still facing legal scrutiny over these events. He affirmed that the current government, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, is honestly working at the village level to eradicate the drug menace that flourished for a decade.
