Moga

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday launched a sharp attack on the Bhagwant Mann-led government in Punjab, alleging it has become an “ATM” for Arvind Kejriwal and appealing to voters to give the Bharatiya Janata Party a chance to form the government in the 2027 Assembly polls.

Addressing a “badlav” (change) rally in Moga, Shah criticised the state government over law and order, drug menace, religious conversions and corruption, claiming the situation in the state had deteriorated.

“Today, Punjab has been destroyed due to debt, drugs, religious conversions, corruption and terror of gangsters,” he alleged.

Shah said if the BJP comes to power in 2027, the party would eliminate the drug trade in the state within two years.

“There is no government in this state. Had there been a government, the law and order situation would not have been so; the state would not have been reeling from the drug menace and farmers would not have been suffering… Mann has only been acting as Kejriwal’s pilot,” he said.

Accusing the state government of corruption, Shah alleged that four “subedars” from Delhi were controlling Punjab’s affairs.

“The AAP government in Punjab has become an ATM for Arvind Kejriwal. It is playing with Punjab’s dignity,” he said, urging voters to give the BJP a chance to bring change in the state.

The senior BJP leader said the party had effectively launched its campaign for the 2027 Assembly elections from Moga.

“With the BJP earlier having been part of the government in Punjab as a junior partner to the Shiromani Akali Dal, whenever we came before you, we came in the role of younger brother,” he said, adding that the BJP would now contest the elections to form its own government.

The Shiromani Akali Dal ended its 24-year-old alliance with the BJP in September 2020 over the now-repealed farm laws. The BJP currently has two MLAs in the 117-member Punjab Assembly.

Shah said the AAP government lacked the will to tackle the drug menace, while accusing the Indian National Congress and the Akalis of having failed earlier.

“If anyone can rid the state of the drug menace, it is only Narendra Modi and the BJP,” he said.

Referring to the Centre’s actions on national security issues, Shah cited the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution of India and claimed that terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and Left-wing extremism were nearing an end.

He also alleged that industries were leaving Punjab due to unfavourable conditions and questioned the state government over its election promises, including MSP for all crops and increased old-age pensions.

The BJP leader further criticised the law and order situation, alleging that three village sarpanches had been killed in 2026 and that gangsters were extorting money from people.

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Elaborate arrangements were made for the rally at Killi Chahlan village in Moga, located in the politically significant Malwa belt of Punjab, which accounts for 69 of the state’s 117 Assembly seats.