"Never felt this sad": Amit Shah on Punjab's drug crisis

New Delhi: After meeting families of three people linked to Punjab's drug menace on Tuesday, Union home minister Amit Shah said he had "never felt this sad", stating that the ground reality was "far more disturbing" than reports he had read in New Delhi.

He vowed to eradicate the drug trade from Punjab by December 31, 2029. Shah began his Punjab visit in Gurdaspur, where he met the family of 40-year-old Bikramjit Singh, whose death was allegedly linked to the drug menace. He then travelled to Sangrur to meet the family of Gulzar Singh before visiting Mansa, where he met the family of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota, who was killed last week.

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Shah said people affected by the 'chitta' trade had also gathered at their homes and shared their experiences. "For 30 years, I have been elected to the assembly and Lok Sabha. As Union home minister, I have met families affected by several tragic incidents and offered them condolences and support. But today, I want to tell the people of the country, especially Punjab, that I have never felt this sad," he said in Ludhiana.

"The situation in Punjab, as described by them, was far more disturbing than what I had read in reports in Delhi," Shah said. He also mounted a sharp attack on the ruling AAP, accusing the Bhagwant Mann government of failing to deliver on its promise to eradicate drugs within three months of coming to power.