Chandigarh, Oct 20 As Home Minister Amit Shah attacked the AAP government in Punjab over the drug menace, state finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Tuesday accused the central government of failing to act against synthetic drug manufacturers operating in states ruled by the BJP and the Congress despite repeated appeals from Punjab.
Cheema claimed that while the AAP government was taking stringent action against drug traffickers, the Centre continued to ignore the sources supplying synthetic and pharmaceutical drugs that were being misused as intoxicants in Punjab.
The senior AAP leader asserted that the government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann would pursue the fight against drugs with full force and would not allow “political considerations or administrative obstacles” to weaken its resolve.
“The main sources of synthetic and pharmaceutical drugs flooding Punjab are in states governed by the BJP and Congress, yet the central government has failed to take decisive action against those manufacturing and supplying these substances. Punjab is fighting this menace on the ground, but the Centre is turning a blind eye to a serious threat to the lives of our youth,” he said.
“The most shocking fact is that no manufacturing of prescription medicines being misused as intoxicants is located in Punjab. These factories are operating in Haryana, Baddi in Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Ahmedabad in Gujarat. The Centre must explain why it has failed to act against the sources of this supply chain,” he said.
The AAP leader’s reaction came as Union Home Minister Shah met the victims of drug menace in Punjab and said that the “rising audacity” of drug traffickers has raised serious questions about the functioning of the Bhagwant Mann government.
In a statement, Cheema said, “Medicines such as Pregabalin, Gaba, Clomine, Tramadol, Zopiclone, Flu Practsol and Carisoprodol are being misused as intoxicants in Punjab, even though these medicines can only be obtained with a doctor’s prescription. The Punjab Government has repeatedly sought stronger legal provisions to stop this misuse, but the Centre has failed to provide any concrete response.”
“The Punjab Health Department sent letters to the Central Government on October 31, 2025, and September 21, 2026, seeking the inclusion of these medicines in the schedule of the NDPS Act. Punjab Health Minister Dr Balbir Singh also wrote to the Centre.
“Despite these repeated representations, the government has not taken any concrete steps. Why is the Centre unwilling to close this legal gap when the lives of our youth are at stake?” he asked.
The minister recalled that when he was serving as Punjab’s Excise and Taxation Minister, he wrote two letters to the central government seeking stringent legislation to prevent the misuse of methyl alcohol, which is meant exclusively for industrial purposes.
“Instead of providing an effective solution, Union Minister Piyush Goyal referred to outdated laws, including the Inflammable Substances Act of 1952, the Petroleum Act of 1934 and the Poisons Act of 1919. This is no way to address a serious public safety crisis,” he claimed.
“The deaths caused by methanol consumption in Sangrur and Majitha exposed the grave consequences of this failure. Investigations traced the supply of the chemical to Faridabad in Haryana. The Punjab Government acted immediately against the firms involved and sent those responsible to jail.
“Our government will not spare anyone who endangers human lives,” he asserted.
(PTI News)
