In a sharp rebuttal to accusations from Himachal Pradesh, Punjab's Finance Minister, Harpal Singh Cheema, has squarely placed the blame for the drug menace on the doorstep of the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Himachal government. The counterattack came on Monday after Chief Minister Sukhu alleged that drugs were entering his state through Punjab.
Cheema's Strong Rebuttal to Himachal's Allegations
Minister Harpal Singh Cheema dismissed the claims as an attempt to shift blame for a domestic failure. He asserted that the Sukhu administration should bear full responsibility for its inability to curb the drug problem within Himachal Pradesh's own borders. "You go to Kullu, Manali or Shimla, any park or restaurant (in Himachal) and drugs will be available openly," Cheema stated, highlighting the visible nature of the issue in the hill state. He pointed out the open smoking of hookahs and questioned why the Himachal government could not enact stricter laws to stop the practice.
Cheema argued that the Himachal government had "failed completely" to check the menace. He linked the problem to the economic condition of Himachal, suggesting that frustrated unemployed youth were turning to drugs. "They are trying to shift the blame," he concluded, positioning Punjab as a proactive actor in the fight against narcotics.
Punjab's Aggressive Anti-Drug Campaign: The Numbers
Contrasting Himachal's alleged inaction, Cheema detailed the extensive efforts undertaken by the Punjab government. The state's intensive anti-drug campaign has now completed nine months. The results, as per police data, are substantial:
- 26,256 FIRs registered.
- 38,687 alleged drug smugglers arrested.
- A massive recovery of 1714 kg of heroin since the campaign's launch on March 1, 2025.
Beyond heroin, the seizures include 561 kg of opium, 266 quintals of poppy husk, 40 kg of charas, 556 kg of ganja, 21 kg of ICE (crystal meth), 42 lakh intoxicant tablets, and drug money amounting to Rs 14.83 crore.
Himachal's Response and the Ongoing Tussle
On its part, the Himachal Pradesh government has also initiated public actions against drugs. On November 4, the state police rolled out another anti-drug push in the form of a state-level walkathon led by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu himself, with similar events organized across various districts.
This exchange underscores the political and administrative friction surrounding the pervasive drug problem in the region. While one state points fingers across its border, the other cites its enforcement records and calls for internal accountability, leaving the core issue of cross-state narcotics networks a contested battlefield.
