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Published - October 23, 2026 03:27 am IST - CHANDIGARH

Poster of Anti-drug campaigner Parvinder Singh Jhota. File | Photo Credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar

The Punjab Assembly on Thursday (October 23, 2026), during the obituary references, paid tributes to anti-drug crusader Parvinder Singh Jhota, who was shot at in Punjab’s Mansa, even as, before the commencement of the session, Congress MLAs led by the leader of the Opposition, Partap Singh Bajwa, burned the effigy of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, demanding his resignation, outside the Punjab Assembly complex.

Mr. Bajwa said the Chief Minister, who also holds the Home portfolio, has completely failed to maintain law and order in the State. The broad daylight murder of Jhota, who raised his voice against the drug menace, is a glaring example of the government’s failure.

Outside the Assembly, speaking to journalists, Mr. Bajwa said “It is the voice of the entire Punjab that law and order has completely ended in Punjab. No person’s life is safe in this State, no one’s business is safe, no one’s work is safe, no one’s family is safe. So, we are asking for Bhagwant Mann’s resignation.”

Separately, Punjab Bharatiya Janata Party president Kewal Singh Dhillon hit out at the State government, accusing it of running away from its accountability. “This was evident from the fact that the Punjab Assembly session today lasted only a few minutes, during which neither Punjab’s concerns were discussed nor were any deliberations held on the issues facing the State,” he said in a statement.

Mr. Dhillon added, “The government will have to answer on issues surrounding the drug menace, gangsterism, extortion and the deteriorating law-and-order situation. The people of Punjab are demanding answers from the AAP government regarding the deaths of Parminder Singh Jhota, Bikramjit Singh, Gulzar Singh and others, who lost their lives for raising their voice against drug menace.”

Mr. Dhillon said that Home Minister Amit Shah had reiterated his commitment to eliminate drugs from Punjab at their roots and had also asserted that an NDA government would be formed in Punjab. “This meant that the BJP would form the government in 2027 in Punjab,” he said.

Published - October 23, 2026 03:27 am IST

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