CHANDIGARH — AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Monday asserted that the fight against illicit drugs should start at Mundra Port in Gujarat rather than in Punjab, stepping into a public exchange with the BJP over responsibility for the state’s drug problem.
Political clash over where the supply originates
Kejriwal’s remarks were made in reaction to comments by BJP national president Nitin Nabin, who launched the party’s 13-day “Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra” from Pathankot on September 18. The BJP’s campaign aims to disrupt trafficking networks, seize alleged proceeds from drug operations, promote rehabilitation and involve communities across the state.
Posting on X, Kejriwal wrote that the campaign to stop drugs should not be focused on Punjab alone but should begin at the point of entry. He said that if anyone cares about Punjab, they should act to halt drugs coming from Gujarat.
"The fight against drugs should not begin from Punjab, but from Mundra Port. If you care even a tiny bit about Punjab, then stop the drugs coming from Gujarat."
Details of the BJP yatra
The BJP has planned a wide-ranging campaign across Punjab, framing it as an effort to tackle supply chains and strengthen rehabilitation and community participation. According to party organisers, the yatra will:
- Run for 13 days, starting from Pathankot on September 18.
- Cover nearly 4,000 km across the state.
- Visit all 117 Assembly constituencies, concluding in Jalandhar on September 30.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Launch date | September 18 (Pathankot) |
| Duration | 13 days |
| Distance | Nearly 4,000 km |
| Coverage | All 117 Assembly constituencies; ends September 30 in Jalandhar |
What the exchange signals for Punjab politics
The sharp exchange between AAP and BJP underscores how narcotics has become a central electoral issue in Punjab ahead of the 2027 Assembly polls. AAP, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann in the state, has emphasised a multi-pronged response to drug abuse that includes enforcement, prevention and rehabilitation. The BJP, for its part, has pushed a visibility-focused campaign to highlight alleged failures in state governance.
By raising the role of port-based smuggling, Kejriwal shifts the debate from state-level enforcement to national and inter-state logistics and customs control — an argument that seeks to broaden accountability to the centre and other states where consignments may enter India.
Operational and community implications
Experts and activists have long argued that breaking trafficking chains requires co-ordinated action across borders, ports, transit routes and consumer locations. While the BJP’s yatra emphasises state-level disruption and community-led reporting, Kejriwal’s claim points to gaps at points of import and transit, which would fall under central agencies and port authorities.
For Punjab’s rural communities, the dispute has immediate meaning: both enforcement-focused drives and rehabilitation-centred programmes affect families and village economies. The political back-and-forth also raises practical questions about how intelligence-sharing, customs checks and inter-state policing will be stepped up if the claim about port-originated consignments is to be acted upon.
What remains to be clarified
The public statements by political leaders set out contrasting narratives, but neither side in this exchange presented operational details or evidence in the statements referenced here to substantiate the specific claim that consignments are moving through Mundra Port into Punjab. Concrete follow-up would require disclosures from investigative agencies, customs authorities or central law-enforcement bodies that monitor maritime and cross-border smuggling.
Meanwhile, the BJP’s yatra will proceed across the state as scheduled, keeping the drug debate highly visible through the end of the month. The exchange between Kejriwal and the BJP is likely to intensify scrutiny of supply chains and pressure both state and central authorities to set out clearer action plans on interdiction and rehabilitation.
Gurpreet Kaur reports from Punjab on agricultural, rural and social issues; this dispatch summarises the public statements and campaign details released by the parties involved.
