Chouhan Accuses Punjab Government of Shielding Drug Mafia

Launching the Bharatiya Janata Party’s ‘Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra,’ Chouhan drew on his four terms as Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister to argue that the crisis is a failure of political will. He contended that effective law and order depends entirely on the government's resolve to dismantle criminal networks. During his tour, the minister met with families mourning relatives lost to addiction, including women who had buried sons as young as 18.

The rhetoric comes amid rising public outcry in Punjab, underscored by the recent suicide of Gulzar Singh in Sangrur. Singh, a Dalit laborer, took his own life after facing harassment for publicly challenging a state minister about the unchecked spread of synthetic drugs, known locally as chitta. Chouhan visited the Krishi Vigyan Kendra in Bathinda to rally support for a drug-free state, insisting that the current administration has abandoned the development promises made by Arvind Kejriwal in favor of a status quo that fuels addiction.