Kejriwal, Bhagwant Mann Launch Phase 2 of ‘Yudh Nashean Virudh’, Vow to Wipe Out Drugs from Punjab

India

oi-Gaurav Sharma

Stepping
up
Punjab’s
fight
against
drugs,
Aam
Aadmi
Party
(AAP)
National
Convenor
Arvind
Kejriwal
and
Chief
Minister
Bhagwant
Singh
Mann
on
Wednesday
launched
the
second
phase
of
Yudh
Nashean
Virudh
at
Lovely
Professional
University
in
Phagwara,
expanding
the
state’s
ongoing
crackdown
into
a
broad-based
people’s
movement.
Addressing
a
large
gathering
on
the
university
campus,
the
AAP
Chief
cited
concrete
outcomes
from
the
first
phase,
including
large-scale
action
against
traffickers,
high
conviction
rates
and
growing
public
participation,
and
said
Phase
II
would
consolidate
these
gains
to
decisively
dismantle
drug
networks
across
Punjab.

Addressing
the
gathering,
AAP
National
Convenor
Arvind
Kejriwal
stated,
“After
the
remarkable
success
of
Phase
One
of
‘Yudh
Nashean
Virudh’
(war
against
drugs),
Phase
Two
is
beginning
today.
Phase
One
was
launched
on
1
March
2025,
about
ten
months
ago,
and
the
honesty,
hard
work
and
determination
with
which
it
was
implemented
has
never
been
seen
before,
not
just
in
Punjab
but
in
any
state
across
the
country,
in
a
fight
against
drugs.
It
is
not
that
drugs
are
sold
only
in
Punjab.
There
are
many
states,
including
Haryana,
Gujarat,
Delhi
and
several
others,
where
drugs
are
sold
openly
and
in
large
quantities,
but
the
governments
there
simply
do
not
care.”

Recalling
the
situation
before
the
AAP
government
was
formed,
the
AAP
Chief
continued,
“In
Punjab,
before
us,
when
the
Shiromani
Akali
Dal
(SAD)
government
was
in
power,
drugs
were
pushed
into
every
lane
and
every
household
during
their
rule.
It
was
during
that
time
that
Punjab
was
so
deeply
trapped
in
drugs
that
the
film
‘Udta
Punjab’
was
made.
Punjab
saw
drugs
entering
homes,
and
many
of
their
senior
personalities
were
directly
involved
in
selling
drugs.
After
that,
Captain
Amarinder
took
an
oath
on
the
Gutka
Sahib
and
said
he
would
eliminate
drugs
in
thirty
days
or
sixty
days.
His
government
lasted
five
years
and
nothing
was
done.
Those
were
false
oaths.
After
that,
our
government
came.”

Elaborating
further,
Arvind
Kejriwal
said,
“We
took
some
time
because
proper
preparation
was
needed,
but
after
1
March
last
year,
the
intensity
and
courage
with
which
we
began
action
against
drugs
was
unprecedented.
Many
people
warned
us
that
drug
traffickers
are
extremely
dangerous,
that
they
are
big
gangsters,
criminals
and
goons,
and
that
they
could
harm
our
families.
We
said
no,
we
have
come
after
making
a
promise
to
the
people
that
we
will
make
Punjab
drug
free
and
secure
a
good
future
for
our
children.”

Detailing
the
scale
of
enforcement,
he
added,
“In
the
last
ten
months,
28,000
cases
have
been
filed
against
drug
traffickers.
At
such
a
massive
level,
in
the
seventy
five
years
since
Independence,
no
state
in
the
country
has
ever
filed
so
many
cases.
These
are
not
fake
cases.
When
these
cases
reached
the
courts
and
the
FIRs
were
examined,
in
88
percent
of
the
cases
the
accused
were
sent
to
jail.
If
these
were
fake
cases,
they
would
have
collapsed,
but
those
being
caught
by
the
police
are
going
to
jail
and
are
being
punished
by
the
courts.
Out
of
every
100
cases,
jail
was
ordered
in
88
cases,
and
among
the
28,000
cases
that
have
reached
the
courts
so
far,
88
percent
have
resulted
in
imprisonment.”

Emphasising
arrests
and
action
against
major
networks,
the
AAP
Supremo
shared
that
around
42,000
smugglers
have
been
arrested.
Never
before
has
any
state
caught
smugglers
at
such
a
large
scale.
Among
them
are
350
big
smugglers.
People
would
have
seen
it
in
their
own
villages,
in
localities
and
neighbourhoods,
where
smugglers’
properties,
huge
mansions,
bungalows,
buildings
and
offices
were
built.
For
the
first
time,
a
government
used
bulldozers
to
demolish
their
buildings.

Pointing
to
the
impact
of
visible
action,
he
said,
“People
began
to
feel
that
for
the
first
time
a
government
had
come
that
was
truly
fighting
against
drugs.
It
was
shown
live
on
television
and
this
action
is
still
continuing,
with
strong
action
being
taken
against
big
smugglers.
The
biggest
trafficker
in
Punjab,
whose
name
made
people
tremble,
whose
name
even
the
administration
feared
to
utter,
was
arrested
and
sent
to
jail
by
this
government,
your
government.
No
one
earlier
had
the
courage
even
to
take
his
name,
let
alone
send
him
to
jail.
The
police
were
afraid,
the
administration
was
afraid
and
even
senior
leaders
were
afraid,
but
the
AAP
government
had
the
courage
to
put
him
behind
bars.”

Explaining
how
public
confidence
was
rebuilt,
Arvind
Kejriwal
emphasised,
“This
strengthened
people’s
morale
and
they
began
coming
forward.
When
we
started
this
campaign,
our
biggest
challenge
was
to
win
public
trust.
People
said
that
many
parties
come,
make
big
promises
and
nothing
happens.
But
when
people
saw
buildings
being
demolished,
traffickers’
houses
and
large
mansions
being
bulldozed,
smugglers
being
arrested
and
even
the
biggest
leader
among
them
being
caught,
people
began
to
trust
us
and
started
coming
forward
with
information.”

Narrating
an
incident
that
shaped
Phase
Two,
he
continued,
“One
day,
an
interesting
incident
took
place
when
CM
Bhagwant
Mann
and
I
were
sitting
together.
He
called
a
young
man
from
his
village
and
asked
who
sells
drugs
there.
The
boy
named
the
person,
told
where
he
sits,
where
he
sells
and
from
whom
he
gets
the
drugs,
explaining
that
the
supplier
sits
under
a
bridge
and
sources
it
further
from
elsewhere.
This
showed
that
the
entire
public
knows
who
sells
drugs.
That
single
incident
became
the
foundation
of
Phase
Two.”

Introducing
community
participation,
the
AAP
Chief
added,
“Village
Defence
Committees
(VDC)
have
now
been
formed.
From
every
village,
10
to
20
people
were
brought
together
and
committees
were
formed.
People
were
asked
who
wants
to
come
forward
and
who
wants
to
make
‘Rangla
Punjab’
again.
Youth
volunteered,
saying
they
would
fix
their
villages.
Teams
of
10
to
20
volunteers
were
formed
in
every
village
and
ward
and
named
Village
Defence
Committees.
So
far,
one
hundred
and
fifty
thousand
volunteers
have
joined
these
Village
Defence
Committees.
This
is
not
a
small
number.
Earlier,
only
the
police
and
administration
were
working,
but
now
one
hundred
and
fifty
thousand
volunteers
will
work
together
to
make
Punjab
drug
free.
They
have
been
trained
and
will
provide
information
about
drug
sellers
in
their
villages.”

He
further
explained
that
an
app
will
be
installed
on
their
phones
where
they
can
report
who
is
selling
drugs,
where
the
drugs
come
from
and
all
related
details.
“Their
identity
will
be
kept
confidential
and
they
will
be
fully
protected.
All
monitoring
will
be
done
at
the
Chief
Minister’s
Office
to
ensure
action
is
taken
and
no
local
level
collusion
is
allowed.
If
anyone
from
the
administration
or
police
is
involved,
information
should
be
shared
and
they
too
will
be
sent
to
jail.”

Arvind
Kejriwal
stated,
“A
missed
call
number
has
been
issued
for
the
three
crore
Punjabis
who
want
to
fix
Punjab.
Any
youth
who
wants
to
join
the
VDCs
can
give
a
missed
call
and
will
receive
training
from
the
Punjab
government.
On
13
February,
a
grand
gathering
of
these
one
hundred
and
fifty
thousand
‘Pind
De
Pehredar’
(volunteers)
will
be
held.
Between
10
January
and
30
January,
padyatras
will
be
taken
out
across
every
lane,
corner,
neighbourhood
and
village
in
Punjab
to
involve
the
entire
state
in
this
movement.”

Addressing
cross
border
trafficking,
Arvind
Kejriwal
added,
“Most
drugs
come
from
Pakistan
through
drones
that
drop
packets
along
the
border.
For
the
first
time,
the
Punjab
government
purchased
anti
drone
systems
using
its
own
funds
instead
of
waiting
for
the
Centre.
If
any
drone
comes
from
Pakistan
now,
it
is
intercepted,
shot
down
and
prevented
from
delivering
drugs
into
Punjab.
Another
crucial
responsibility
of
the
VDCs
is
treatment.
Lists
should
be
made
of
those
who
are
addicted
and
they
should
be
counselled
and
taken
to
de-addiction
centres.
When
our
government
came,
these
centres
were
in
terrible
condition,
but
now
they
have
air
conditioning,
CCTVs,
televisions,
good
food
and
capacity
increased
from
1,500
to
5,000
beds.
CM
Bhagwant
Mann
and
I
personally
visited
several
centres
and
people
now
trust
that
proper
treatment
is
available.”

Concluding
with
a
collective
appeal,
he
stated,
“With
the
police,
administration
and
the
Aam
Aadmi
Party
government
working
actively,
the
people
of
Punjab
must
now
come
together.
All
three
crore
Punjabis
will
together
make
‘Rangla
Punjab’
and
drug
free
Punjab.”

Addressing
the
gathering,
Punjab
Chief
Minister
Bhagwant
Singh
Mann
said,
“The
enthusiasm
of
the
people
shows
that
we
are
very
close
to
winning
this
war
against
drugs.” He
said
that
issues
of
health,
education
and
dignity
of
the
common
man
had
come
to
the
centre
of
governance
because
of
Arvind
Kejriwal.
“This
fight
against
drugs
has
become
a
mass
movement
because
drugs
is
not
just
a
crime,
it
is
a
social
problem,”
he
said.

The
Chief
Minister
said,
“Only
a
mass
movement
can
end
drugs.
Police
or
government
action
alone
is
not
enough.”
He
said
that
earlier
governments
had
patronised
the
drug
trade,
whereas
the
present
government
had
cracked
down
on
it
without
fear.
“Punjabis
have
an
indomitable
spirit.
We
have
overcome
floods
and
many
challenges
together,
and
we
will
defeat
drugs
as
well,”
he
said.

Referring
to
Punjab’s
image,
the
Chief
Minister
said,
“Despite
drug
recoveries
in
other
states,
Punjab
alone
has
been
unfairly
defamed.
This
is
part
of
a
conspiracy
and
is
completely
unwarranted.”
He
said
that
Yudh
Nashean
Virudh
was
about
saving
future
generations
and
that
its
results
would
soon
be
visible
on
the
ground.

Bhagwant
Singh
Mann
said
that
those
who
had
patronised
the
drug
trade
were
now
facing
the
consequences
of
their
actions.
“When
the
history
of
Punjab
is
written,
the
contribution
of
every
citizen
who
became
a
warrior
in
this
movement
will
be
recorded
in
golden
words,”
he
said,
thanking
the
people
of
the
state
for
standing
with
the
government.

He
said,
“Drug
addicts
are
victims.
They
need
sympathy
and
treatment,
and
our
government
is
leaving
no
stone
unturned
for
their
rehabilitation.”
He
added
that
previous
regimes
had
encouraged
the
drug
trade
for
political
interests,
while
this
movement
aimed
at
building
a
‘Rangla
Punjab’.

The
Chief
Minister
said,
“While
our
government
is
focused
on
development
and
welfare,
the
opposition
is
banking
on
divisive
agendas.”
He
said
that
people
would
never
forgive
those
who
had
committed
sins
against
Punjab.
“With
the
active
support
of
the
people,
we
will
transform
the
destiny
of
this
state,”
he
said.

CM
Bhagwant
Singh
Mann
said
that
Punjab’s
international
border
had
been
exploited
by
drug
traffickers,
but
the
government
had
adopted
a
zero-tolerance
policy.
“Those
who
spread
misery
by
selling
drugs
are
enemies
of
society,
and
they
will
not
be
spared
at
any
cost,”
he
said.

Assuring
the
people,
the
Chief
Minister
said,
“I
will
not
rest
until
this
problem
is
uprooted
completely.
Phase
II
of
Yudh
Nashean
Virudh
will
be
more
successful
than
Phase
I,
and
Punjab
will
script
a
new
success
story.”

He
said
that
a
comprehensive,
multi-dimensional
strategy
was
in
place.
“We
have
broken
supply
lines,
sent
big
players
to
jail,
treated
and
rehabilitated
victims,
and
taken
strict
action
against
the
properties
of
traffickers.
This
campaign
will
continue
until
Punjab
is
completely
free
from
drugs,”
he
said.

The
Chief
Minister
said,
“A
true
leader
speaks
the
language
of
the
masses
and
understands
their
emotions.
The
opposition
has
no
such
leader
and
no
agenda.”
He
said
that
the
state
government
had
upgraded
education
infrastructure,
improved
healthcare
and
provided
jobs
to
61,000
youth
without
corruption,
while
the
opposition
had
nothing
constructive
to
offer.

Speaking
on
the
occasion,
senior
AAP
leader
and
Punjab
Prabhari
Manish
Sisodia
said,
“Punjab
has
set
an
example
by
successfully
completing
Phase
I
of
Yudh
Nashean
Virudh.”
He
congratulated
the
state
government
and
said
the
credit
for
the
success
of
the
campaign
went
to
Arvind
Kejriwal
and
Bhagwant
Singh
Mann.

Manish
Sisodia
said,
“Earlier
crackdowns
against
drugs
were
only
a
sham
due
to
lack
of
political
will.”
He
said
that
Phase
I
focused
on
strict
police
action
and
rehabilitation,
while
Phase
II
would
see
the
public
directly
confronting
drug
smugglers.
“This
community
crackdown
will
be
decisive
in
eliminating
drugs
and
will
bring
even
silent
spectators
into
this
fight,”
he
said.

On
the
occasion,
Cabinet
Ministers
Aman
Arora,
Dr
Balbir
Singh
and
Tarunpreet
Singh
Sond,
Lok
Sabha
MP
Raj
Kumar
Chabbewal,
Rajya
Sabha
MP
Ashok
Mittal
and
others
also
addressed
the
gathering.

Chief
Secretary
KAP
Sinha,
Special
DGP
Arpit
Shukla
and
senior
officers
of
the
state
administration
were
also
present.

Phase
II
enters
a
decisive
stage

The
second
phase
of
Yudh
Nashean
Virudh
marks
a
critical
stage
in
Punjab’s
sustained
war
against
drugs,
building
on
the
campaign
that
began
in
February
2025.
From
the
land
of
Doaba,
the
Pindān
de
Pahredār
initiative
has
been
launched,
under
which
padyatras
will
be
conducted
across
nearly
15,000
villages
and
wards
between
January
10
and
January
25.
The
campaign
seeks
to
encourage
citizens
to
become
active
guardians
of
their
own
villages
and
neighbourhoods
in
the
fight
against
drugs.
Alongside
this,
a
missed-call
number,
9899-100002,
has
been
launched
to
allow
any
citizen
to
register
their
village
as
part
of
the
movement,
after
which
the
Chief
Minister’s
team
will
personally
reach
out
to
involve
them
in
anti-drug
activities.

Village
Defence
Committees
at
the
core
of
the
movement

A
dedicated
Yudh
Nashean
Virudh
mobile
application
has
been
launched
for
members
of
the
Village
Defence
Committees,
enabling
them
to
share
information
related
to
drug
activity
while
keeping
their
identity
confidential.
The
Village
Defence
Committees
were
formed
between
August
and
October
2025
to
strengthen
the
campaign
at
the
grassroots
level,
following
the
Nasha
Mukti
Yatra.
In
just
three
months,
1.50
lakh
volunteers
joined
these
committees
and
took
an
oath
to
make
their
villages
drug
free.
This
initiative
transformed
the
anti-drug
effort
into
a
broad-based
people’s
movement
across
Punjab,
ensuring
sustained
public
participation
against
drug
networks.

Training,
coordination
and
accountability
mechanisms

To
institutionalise
the
campaign,
more
than
50,000
Village
Defence
Committee
members
were
trained
on
November
6
and
7,
2025,
at
the
assembly
constituency
level.
The
training
clarified
their
roles
and
responsibilities,
established
coordination
frameworks
for
better
communication,
and
introduced
structured
reporting
protocols
for
sharing
drug-related
information.
Identity
cards
were
distributed
to
committee
members
to
strengthen
their
credibility
among
villagers
and
clearly
define
accountability.
Earlier,
between
May
and
July
2025,
the
Yudh
Nashean
Virudh
campaign
covered
more
than
15,000
villages
under
the
Nasha
Mukti
Yatra,
during
which
communities
took
pledges
not
to
allow
drug
smuggling
within
their
boundaries,
drawing
even
socially
isolated
individuals
into
active
participation.

Enforcement
and
action
against
drug
networks

A
comprehensive
and
multi-dimensional
strategy
has
been
adopted
to
make
Punjab
drug
free.
This
includes
breaking
supply
lines,
arresting
and
jailing
major
players
connected
to
the
drug
trade,
treating
and
rehabilitating
drug
victims,
and
using
bulldozers
on
properties
created
through
drug
money.
Between
March
1
and
December
31,
2025,
29,352
cases
were
registered
under
the
NDPS
Act,
39,981
traffickers
were
arrested,
1,849
kg
of
heroin
and
28
tonnes
of
poppy
husk
were
seized,
and
drug
money
worth
₹15.25
crore
was
recovered.
During
this
period,
358
major
traffickers
involved
in
cases
with
over
2
kg
of
heroin
were
arrested,
490
drone
activities
were
detected
along
the
international
border
with
252
drones
recovered,
and
properties
worth
₹299
crore
were
confiscated.
Courts
heard
6,040
NDPS
cases,
resulting
in
5,317
convictions,
reflecting
an
88
percent
conviction
rate.
Additionally,
50,433
anti-drug
awareness
meetings
were
held
across
districts.

Expanding
treatment
and
rehabilitation
infrastructure

On
the
treatment
front,
more
than
10.48
lakh
patients
have
been
registered
at
547
Outpatient
Opioid
Assisted
Treatment
clinics.
Over
5,000
dedicated
beds
are
now
available
for
drug
rehabilitation
and
treatment,
with
all
services
provided
free
of
cost
and
government
reimbursement
extended
for
private
treatment
as
well.
Punjab
currently
has
36
government
de-addiction
centres,
19
government
rehabilitation
centres,
143
private
de-addiction
centres,
72
private
rehabilitation
centres
and
55
empanelled
rehabilitation
centres,
in
addition
to
facilities
linked
with
44
nursing
colleges
and
11
medical
colleges.
A
DDRP
portal
has
been
created
for
real-time
monitoring,
with
secure
record-keeping
and
Aadhaar-linked
biometric
verification.

Rising
treatment
uptake
and
capacity
building

Government
de-addiction
centres
have
seen
a
sharp
rise
in
patient
numbers,
increasing
from
962
to
2,674
in
August
2025
and
from
632
to
2,756
in
September
2025.
Government
rehabilitation
centres
recorded
an
increase
from
254
to
888
patients
in
August
and
from
275
to
804
in
September.
OOAT
clinics
registered
27.64
lakh
monthly
visits
in
September
2025,
showing
a
year-on-year
increase.
Capacity
building
measures
include
training
24
psychologists
as
master
trainers
at
AIIMS
Delhi,
training
over
1,000
medical
officers,
initiating
recruitment
for
180
psychologists,
and
designating
five
medical
colleges
as
cluster
resource
centres.
Partnerships
have
also
been
forged
with
organisations
such
as
the
Sun
Foundation
to
provide
skill
development,
employment
and
reintegration
opportunities
to
recovering
patients,
with
skill
development
units
established
at
seven
rehabilitation
centres.

Focus
on
prisons,
education
and
prevention

Additional
initiatives
include
the
establishment
of
de-addiction
centres
in
eight
central
jails,
with
centres
planned
for
Gurdaspur
and
Hoshiarpur,
and
the
introduction
of
well-being
clinics
across
prisons.
Recruitment
of
60
psychologists
for
all
25
jails
is
underway.
Under
the
Soorma
Program,
individuals
who
have
overcome
addiction
are
being
recognised
as
ambassadors
of
recovery,
with
25
such
individuals
identified
through
700
calls
and
prepared
for
district-level
engagement.
Training
has
also
been
extended
to
law
enforcement
and
the
judiciary,
with
workshops
organised
at
National
Law
University,
Patiala,
for
720
investigating
officers
and
government
prosecutors
on
NDPS
regulations
and
mainstreaming
drug
victims.

Sports,
youth
engagement
and
public
reporting

Preventive
efforts
include
the
introduction
of
a
drug
prevention
curriculum
in
all
government
schools
for
Classes
9
to
12,
creating
awareness
among
more
than
8
lakh
students.
Rehabilitation
bed
capacity
has
expanded
from
1,455
beds
at
the
launch
of
the
campaign
to
4,940
beds.
Thirty-one
new
OOAT
centres
have
been
opened.
To
keep
youth
engaged
in
constructive
activities,
3,100
stadiums
are
being
constructed
at
a
cost
of
₹1,350
crore,
3,000
modern
gyms
are
being
set
up
and
17,000
sports
kits
have
been
distributed.
A
WhatsApp
number
has
also
been
launched
to
report
drug
trafficking,
with
confidentiality
of
informers
assured.

Zero
tolerance
and
sustained
commitment

Acknowledging
Punjab’s
geographical
challenge
of
sharing
an
international
border
that
has
been
exploited
as
a
drug
trafficking
route,
the
campaign
reiterates
a
zero-tolerance
policy
towards
drug
traffickers.
Strict
surveillance
and
enforcement
measures
continue
to
be
implemented
to
address
this
vulnerability.
The
overarching
commitment
remains
unchanged:
those
who
spread
misery
by
selling
drugs
are
enemies
of
society
and
will
not
be
spared,
and
the
campaign
will
continue
relentlessly
until
Punjab
is
completely
drug
free.