Amit Shah sets December 2029 deadline for drug-free Punjab

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on October 20 set December 31, 2029, as the deadline for ending Punjab’s illicit narcotics trade, promising that central authorities would pursue those responsible for the killings of anti-drug activists. He made the pledge at a Vijayadashami gathering in Ludhiana, The Economic Times reported.

Shah presented the commitment as a priority for the Modi government and a tribute to three men whose bereaved families he met earlier in the day. The deadline is a government pledge, rather than a demonstrated enforcement outcome.

Justice pledge and the Jhota investigation

Shah referred to the transfer of the inquiry into Parwinder Singh Jhota’s murder to the Central Bureau of Investigation. He said the agency’s involvement would enable investigators to pursue anyone implicated, regardless of their influence.

His remarks did not establish the identity or culpability of any alleged conspirator. The promise to pursue influential people was an assurance about the investigation, not a finding against a named accused.

Earlier, Shah met the families of Bikramjit Singh in Gurdaspur, Gulzar Singh in Sangrur and Jhota in Mansa. They were described as having been murdered or driven to suicide, allegedly because they opposed drug-trafficking networks. Shah assured their relatives that those responsible would face strict action.

Residents urged to report trafficking

Shah asked Punjab residents with information about illicit drug activity to report it through the Narcotics Control Bureau’s reporting line. He said central agencies would act if the state administration did not.

That statement was a conditional warning about enforcement, not evidence of a specific instance in which Punjab authorities had refused to act on a complaint.

Government record invoked to back the target

To support his pledge, Shah cited the Modi government’s removal of Article 370’s special-status provisions for Jammu and Kashmir. He also claimed that terrorism was close to elimination and that Naxalism had been eradicated. Those broad security assessments were his assertions, rather than independently established findings in this account.

Shah reiterated that his government would continue its efforts until Punjab was free of the drug trade. His reported remarks did not specify interim enforcement targets, funding commitments or a measure for assessing whether the December 2029 goal had been achieved.