Chandigarh, Oct 19: Ahead of the Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s Punjab visit, senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Monday asked him to explain what steps the BJP-led Centre had taken to prevent smuggling of drugs and arms into the border state from across the border.
Shah on Sunday announced that he will visit Punjab on October 20 and meet the family members of those who recently lost their lives for raising their voices against the drug menace in Mansa, Sangrur and Gurdaspur.
The home minister also alleged that the AAP government in Punjab has spared no effort in “pushing the state into the abyss of drugs”.
Pilot said when the Union home minister comes to Punjab, he should give a reply on what the Centre has done to stop smuggling of drugs and weapons through drones.
He pointed out that the Border Security Force (BSF), deployed along the international border, has 50 km under its jurisdiction.
“What steps have you taken to prevent supply of arms and drugs? The BJP has been at the Centre for the past 12 years. He has to reply,” said Pilot while speaking to reporters in Batala.
“What are the home ministry and the defence ministry doing? Drugs and guns, from where are they coming from? Drug money supports illegal arms trade,” said Pilot, who is accompanied by Punjab Congress chief Pargat Singh.
The central government should reply to those who are running gangs while sitting in jails and people are getting extortion calls. “Is not the home minister responsible for this?” he asked.
Pilot is on a five-day visit to Punjab to meet the families of gang violence victims, seeking justice for them.
Later in Batala, Pilot and Pargat Singh, Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, Congress MP Sukhjinder Randhawa and MLA Barindermeet Singh Pahra met the family of Kanav Mahajan, who was shot dead on October 10, 2025.
“We stand with the family in their pursuit of justice and demand strict action against those responsible. Daylight killings and shootings have become alarmingly common in Punjab.
“The AAP govt has failed to ensure the safety and security of its people,” said Pargat Singh.
