Channi, Bajwa, Bittu trying to protect Majithia…we have evidence against him: Mann

In an attack on former SAD minister Bikram Singh Majithia, currently lodged in Nabha jail, the CM said, “While our government is fighting them, traditional parties were hand in glove with them and were offering them protection. It is shocking that Congress leaders, including Charanjit Singh Channi, Partap Singh Bajwa, Sukhpal Singh Khaira, BJP leader Captain Amarinder Singh, and Ravneet Singh Bittu are openly speaking in Majithia’s favour.”

He said that this exposes the collusion between traditional political parties adding that when in power, they’ve covered up each other’s wrongdoings. He once again challenged them to make it clear to the people of Punjab that whether they are with the drug traffickers or against them.

“We have found an important evidence against Majithia and it will be presented in court,” said Mann, adding that now “those who brought drugs to Punjab will have to eat jail food. They won’t get pillows and delectable food,” Mannsaid.

Elaborating the committees, the CM said, “Each village or ward defence committee will be formed with four core members: the village sarpanch or ward councillor, a representative from the anti-drug campaign, the Block Development and Panchayat officer (BDPO) or their representative, and the SHO or their representative. The committees will include 10 to 20 members depending on the population adding that only individuals with clean records and reputations—such as retired army personnel, teachers, and village headmen—will be included.”

The committee will be officially notified by the local SDM and committee members will be issued special government ID cards. He added that villages and wards will have 24/7 surveillance to ensure no trafficker dares to operate.

Mann said that committee members will also assist in drug rehabilitation efforts. He said that any village or ward that achieves 100% drug-free status will receive formal recognition and certificates of appreciation from the government.

Blaming traditional political parties for dragging Punjab into the swamp of drug addiction, Mann said that the current government was forced to launch such extensive campaigns to wipe out this stigma. “If the previous governments had restrained drug traffickers, we wouldn’t need to conduct such programmes today,” he added.

Meanwhile, he added that the state will see extensive repair work on 20,000 km of link roads once the monsoon season is over.