CHANDIGARH / PHAGWARA, 8 January 2026 :
Stepping up Punjab’s fight against drugs, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal and Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Wednesday launched the second phase of Yudh Nashean Virudh at Lovely Professional University in Phagwara, expanding the state’s ongoing crackdown into a broad-based people’s movement. Addressing a large gathering on the university campus, the AAP Chief cited concrete outcomes from the first phase, including large-scale action against traffickers, high conviction rates and growing public participation, and said Phase II would consolidate these gains to decisively dismantle drug networks across Punjab.
Addressing the gathering, AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal stated, “After the remarkable success of Phase One of ‘Yudh Nashean Virudh’ (war against drugs), Phase Two is beginning today. Phase One was launched on 1 March 2025, about ten months ago, and the honesty, hard work and determination with which it was implemented has never been seen before, not just in Punjab but in any state across the country, in a fight against drugs. It is not that drugs are sold only in Punjab. There are many states, including Haryana, Gujarat, Delhi and several others, where drugs are sold openly and in large quantities, but the governments there simply do not care.”
Recalling the situation before the AAP government was formed, the AAP Chief continued, “In Punjab, before us, when the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) government was in power, drugs were pushed into every lane and every household during their rule. It was during that time that Punjab was so deeply trapped in drugs that the film ‘Udta Punjab’ was made. Punjab saw drugs entering homes, and many of their senior personalities were directly involved in selling drugs. After that, Captain Amarinder took an oath on the Gutka Sahib and said he would eliminate drugs in thirty days or sixty days. His government lasted five years and nothing was done. Those were false oaths. After that, our government came.”
Elaborating further, Arvind Kejriwal said, “We took some time because proper preparation was needed, but after 1 March last year, the intensity and courage with which we began action against drugs was unprecedented. Many people warned us that drug traffickers are extremely dangerous, that they are big gangsters, criminals and goons, and that they could harm our families. We said no, we have come after making a promise to the people that we will make Punjab drug free and secure a good future for our children.”
Detailing the scale of enforcement, he added, “In the last ten months, 28,000 cases have been filed against drug traffickers. At such a massive level, in the seventy five years since Independence, no state in the country has ever filed so many cases. These are not fake cases. When these cases reached the courts and the FIRs were examined, in 88 percent of the cases the accused were sent to jail. If these were fake cases, they would have collapsed, but those being caught by the police are going to jail and are being punished by the courts. Out of every 100 cases, jail was ordered in 88 cases, and among the 28,000 cases that have reached the courts so far, 88 percent have resulted in imprisonment.”
Emphasising arrests and action against major networks, the AAP Supremo shared that around 42,000 smugglers have been arrested. Never before has any state caught smugglers at such a large scale. Among them are 350 big smugglers. People would have seen it in their own villages, in localities and neighbourhoods, where smugglers’ properties, huge mansions, bungalows, buildings and offices were built. For the first time, a government used bulldozers to demolish their buildings.
Pointing to the impact of visible action, he said, “People began to feel that for the first time a government had come that was truly fighting against drugs. It was shown live on television and this action is still continuing, with strong action being taken against big smugglers. The biggest trafficker in Punjab, whose name made people tremble, whose name even the administration feared to utter, was arrested and sent to jail by this government, your government. No one earlier had the courage even to take his name, let alone send him to jail. The police were afraid, the administration was afraid and even senior leaders were afraid, but the AAP government had the courage to put him behind bars.”
Explaining how public confidence was rebuilt, Arvind Kejriwal emphasised, “This strengthened people’s morale and they began coming forward. When we started this campaign, our biggest challenge was to win public trust. People said that many parties come, make big promises and nothing happens. But when people saw buildings being demolished, traffickers’ houses and large mansions being bulldozed, smugglers being arrested and even the biggest leader among them being caught, people began to trust us and started coming forward with information.”
Narrating an incident that shaped Phase Two, he continued, “One day, an interesting incident took place when CM Bhagwant Mann and I were sitting together. He called a young man from his village and asked who sells drugs there. The boy named the person, told where he sits, where he sells and from whom he gets the drugs, explaining that the supplier sits under a bridge and sources it further from elsewhere. This showed that the entire public knows who sells drugs. That single incident became the foundation of Phase Two.”
Introducing community participation, the AAP Chief added, “Village Defence Committees (VDC) have now been formed. From every village, 10 to 20 people were brought together and committees were formed. People were asked who wants to come forward and who wants to make ‘Rangla Punjab’ again. Youth volunteered, saying they would fix their villages. Teams of 10 to 20 volunteers were formed in every village and ward and named Village Defence Committees. So far, one hundred and fifty thousand volunteers have joined these Village Defence Committees. This is not a small number. Earlier, only the police and administration were working, but now one hundred and fifty thousand volunteers will work together to make Punjab drug free. They have been trained and will provide information about drug sellers in their villages.”
He further explained that an app will be installed on their phones where they can report who is selling drugs, where the drugs come from and all related details. “Their identity will be kept confidential and they will be fully protected. All monitoring will be done at the Chief Minister’s Office to ensure action is taken and no local level collusion is allowed. If anyone from the administration or police is involved, information should be shared and they too will be sent to jail.”
Arvind Kejriwal stated, “A missed call number has been issued for the three crore Punjabis who want to fix Punjab. Any youth who wants to join the VDCs can give a missed call and will receive training from the Punjab government. On 13 February, a grand gathering of these one hundred and fifty thousand ‘Pind De Pehredar’ (volunteers) will be held. Between 10 January and 30 January, padyatras will be taken out across every lane, corner, neighbourhood and village in Punjab to involve the entire state in this movement.”
Addressing cross border trafficking, Arvind Kejriwal added, “Most drugs come from Pakistan through drones that drop packets along the border. For the first time, the Punjab government purchased anti drone systems using its own funds instead of waiting for the Centre. If any drone comes from Pakistan now, it is intercepted, shot down and prevented from delivering drugs into Punjab. Another crucial responsibility of the VDCs is treatment. Lists should be made of those who are addicted and they should be counselled and taken to de-addiction centres. When our government came, these centres were in terrible condition, but now they have air conditioning, CCTVs, televisions, good food and capacity increased from 1,500 to 5,000 beds. CM Bhagwant Mann and I personally visited several centres and people now trust that proper treatment is available.”
Concluding with a collective appeal, he stated, “With the police, administration and the Aam Aadmi Party government working actively, the people of Punjab must now come together. All three crore Punjabis will together make ‘Rangla Punjab’ and drug free Punjab.”