'ISI plus Kejriwal sahib's gang': Jakhar hits out at AAP as BJP's Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra reaches Talwandi Sabo
BJP’s Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra reached Talwandi Sabo, where Sunil Jakhar hit out at AAP over drugs.
North Desk Correspondent
Bathinda, September 21
Senior BJP leader Sunil Jakhar on Monday used the words “ISI plus Kejriwal sahib’s gang” while accusing Punjab’s AAP government of profiting from drugs, as the BJP’s Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra reached Talwandi Sabo.
Addressing the gathering in Punjabi, Jakhar alleged that the more drugs are sold, the more income the party earns, and claimed the AAP government had made this “a source of income”. He said villagers and city residents once raised an uproar when a liquor vend opened in their lane or illicit liquor was sold in their village. Now, he alleged, those who earlier sold illicit liquor and drugs were selling packets and tablets “with the backing of this government”.
Jakhar referred to synthetic and pharmaceutical drugs, saying youths grind tablets and inject them, after which deaths are attributed to overdose. He said “the ruffians” who had been gathered for this work were “ISI plus Kejriwal sahib’s gang”, and alleged they had cast an evil eye on Punjab’s future. He reminded the crowd that voters had given AAP a chance by electing it with 92 seats.
AAP’s response to Jakhar’s remarks was awaited at the time of filing.
Punjab BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon, Rajya Sabha MP Vikramjit Singh Sahney and senior BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chauhan are all in Talwandi Sabo for the yatra.
What the Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra is
Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra: The BJP has planned four yatras, from Pathankot, Fatehgarh Sahib, Fazilka and Talwandi Sabo, covering nearly 4,000 km across all 117 Assembly constituencies over 13 days. They are due to converge in Jalandhar on Sep 30, where Union Home Minister Amit Shah is to address a concluding rally. The campaign runs under the slogan “Bhajpa da naara, nasha mukauna saara”.
BJP national president Nitin Nabin launched the first yatra from Madhopur in Pathankot on Friday. The Talwandi Sabo leg began with obeisance at Gurdwara Sri Damdama Sahib, and it will pass through Maur, Rampura Phul, Bathinda, Mansa, Barnala, Sangrur, Patiala and other constituencies before ending in Jalandhar.
Dhillon has said the campaign is about three issues: drugs, deteriorating law and order, and corruption in governance. The party has also launched a helpline, 97149-02027, as part of the drive. The campaign comes months before Punjab’s 2027 Assembly election.
How BJP leaders have framed the attack
Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra: On Saturday, Sahney alleged that “chitta” is sold like toffees in Punjab and that the Bhagwant Mann government has failed to break the drug supply chain. He questioned the AAP government’s repeated deadlines to eradicate drugs.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta flagged off the second yatra at Fatehgarh Sahib the other day. She said the “demon of drugs” was spreading across villages and cities in Punjab. She said Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann had promised to eliminate drugs within three months of forming the government but had “failed”, and described Kejriwal as Punjab’s “super CM”.
Dhillon said pizza delivery may get delayed, but chitta is always delivered on time, and said attempts were made to disrupt the yatra by throwing eggs at Ravneet Bittu. At the Pathankot launch, Nabin said Punjabis want an “Ubhar da Punjab”, not an “Udta Punjab”.
AAP’s response
Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra: Punjab AAP leader Baltej Pannu said on Thursday that the yatra was “political nautanki”. He questioned the BJP’s silence when it was a partner in power in Punjab during 2007-17, the period in which he said chitta emerged and spread across the state.
He asked why the BJP was selectively targeting Punjab while staying silent on drug-affected states, including neighbouring Haryana. Pannu also said all sensitive districts of Punjab are border districts under the BSF, and that the BJP must explain what it is doing to stop drugs entering the state.
On Sunday, Haryana AAP chief Sushil Gupta alleged that drugs have reached every city in Haryana and that crime and corruption have increased under the BJP government there. He said the BJP shirks responsibility by pointing fingers at neighbouring states.
Congress’s response
Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra: Punjab Congress leader Vijay Inder Singla said on Sunday that Punjab does not need “political yatras” and slogans but honest accountability and measurable action. He asked the BJP to present its own track record before “lecturing Punjab on the drug crisis”.
Singla, a Congress Working Committee member, noted that the BJP was a partner in the Punjab government from 2007 to 2017, a decade in which he said the drug crisis emerged as one of the state’s most serious social challenges.
Background: the government’s own campaign
Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra: The AAP government launched its “Yudh Nashian Virudh” campaign on March 1, 2025. It came with a three-month deadline to end the menace, and the campaign was extended after the May 31 deadline expired. Marking 500 days on Aug 2, Mann said the campaign had led to the arrest of 70,000 smugglers and would continue until the menace is eradicated, and said around 1.25 lakh volunteers were working across 13,000 villages.
In the same address he alleged that the Shiromani Akali Dal had “introduced drugs” in Punjab and that the Congress had patronised the menace.
The four yatras converge in Jalandhar on Sep 30, where Amit Shah is due to address the concluding rally.
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