CHANDIGARH, MAY 25 — BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh on Monday strongly criticized the Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab government for deploying government school teachers to conduct a statewide census of drug addicts. The senior opposition leader labeled the move administrative chaos, arguing that dragging educators out of classrooms during extreme heat damages the state’s education system.
Chugh asserted that teachers are already overburdened with non-academic duties, including the National Census and voter registry revisions. He noted that instead of sending teachers door-to-door to identify drug users, the administration should have utilized them to build anti-addiction campaigns inside educational institutions.
“It is ridiculous the way teachers are being engaged by the Bhagwant Mann government to conduct drug addicts’ census,” Chugh stated. “Instead of utilising their services to spread a de-addiction campaign through the schools, they are being asked to go door-to-door to identify drug addicts, a job which should ideally be done by the police or other agencies.”
The BJP leader maintained that specialized bodies like the Punjab Police, the Special Task Force, and other law enforcement agencies are the proper authorities to handle narcotics and addiction surveys. Chugh claimed that the state police department is failing to dismantle narcotics networks because its personnel are too busy managing security and travel logistics for Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal and his associates.
Chugh declared that the assignment reflects a trend of headline management and survey politics rather than actual governance. He stated that if the ruling government genuinely wanted to protect Punjabi youth from substance abuse, it would have designed school-based vigilance and awareness programs led by these educators rather than forcing them into field assignments.
