‘Punjab govt shattered spirit of drug smugglers’

Chandigarh: On a war footing against drugs, Punjab Cabinet ministers on Sunday led awareness programmes at district and village levels, strengthening grassroots efforts through Village Defence Committees.

AAP ministers urged citizens to make ‘Yudh Nashiyan Virudh’ a mass movement, envisioning Punjab as India’s first drug-free state.

They highlighted that the Mann government has shattered the spirit of drug smugglers as well as their ill-gotten houses—a stark contrast, they said, to previous administrations, which “had allowed drug smuggling to thrive”.

In Patiala, Finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema and Health minister Balbir Singh led the charge. Administrative Reforms minister Aman Arora and Agriculture minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal addressed gatherings in Bathinda. Information and Public Relations minister Harjot Singh Bains was in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar; NRI minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, Food and Civil Supplies minister Lal Chand Kataruchak, and Local Government minister Ravjot Singh Gill held events in Pathankot.

Transport minister Laljit Singh Bhullar and Defence Services Welfare minister Mohinder Bhagat were in Gurdaspur; Power minister Harbhajan Singh ETO and Revenue minister Hardeep Singh Mundian in Amritsar; Rural Development minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond and Women and Child Development minister Baljit Kaur in Malerkotla; and Water Resources minister Barinder Kumar Goyal was in Fazilka.