Ravneet Bittu Openly Admits Alliance With Badals Means Return Of Drugs And Gangsterism In Punjab: AAP

Chandigarh: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab State Media In-charge Baltej Pannu on Friday said that Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu has himself exposed the truth behind SAD-BJP's rule from 2007-17, then failed Congress government of 2017-22 and now some of BJP’s leaders' desperation for an alliance with the Badals by admitting that drugs and gangsterism would return to Punjab if such an alliance takes place.

What was Pannu's statement? 

Addressing a press conference, Baltej Pannu said that Bittu has raised extremely serious questions by publicly stating that an alliance with the Badals would mean a return of “chitta” (synthetic drugs) and gangsterism in Punjab. “These are not ordinary political statements. These are confessions that clearly establish who destroyed Punjab between 2007 and 2017,” Pannu said.

Pannu asked Ravneet Bittu to answer one simple question: if he knows that the Badals were responsible for pushing Punjab into drugs and gangster violence, then why are some BJP leaders in Punjab aggressively advocating an alliance with them? Pannu said the answers lie within BJP itself.

“BJP Punjab today is led by former Congress President Sunil Jakhar, while former Congress Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh is a senior BJP leader. Both of them openly argue that BJP cannot survive in Punjab without aligning with Badal,” Pannu said. “Does this mean they do not know who spread drugs and nurtured gangsterism in Punjab, or do they simply choose to ignore it for political convenience?”

What did Pannu say about Akali-BJP rule?

Baltej Pannu reminded that during the Akali-BJP rule from 2007 to 2017, Punjab witnessed the peak of drug trafficking and gangster culture. “This was the period when Punjab first heard the word chitta on such a massive scale, when a powerful Akali leader’s (Bikram Majithia) name surfaced in a drug trafficking case, when Nabha jail was broken, when a police ASI was killed in Amritsar while protecting his daughter, when a policeman’s leg was broken in Ludhiana, and when a minor girl was abducted in Faridkot by gangsters,” he said.

Pannu further questioned Bittu’s silence during the Congress rule from 2017 to 2022, when Bittu was a sitting MP. “If you knew then who was responsible for drugs and gangsterism, did you ever demand action against the Badals? Did Captain Amarinder Singh or Charanjit Singh Channi take any decisive action? The truth is that Congress, BJP and Akalis were running a partnership government, shielding each other,” he said.

What did Pannu say about anti-drug measures?

He asserted that the so-called anti-drug promises made by Captain Amarinder Singh, including oaths on Gutka Sahib, turned out to be hollow slogans. “The Congress government from 2017 to 2022 did nothing against the drug mafia. Ravneet Bittu has now indirectly admitted that reality as well,” Pannu said.

Baltej Pannu said that since AAP formed the government in 2022, Punjab has been witnessing sustained action against drugs and gangsterism. “The government has launched Yudh Nashian Virudh, now in its second phase, and Punjab Police is taking strict action against gangsters who take law into their own hands. Criminals are being dealt with firmly, without political protection,” he said.

Concluding, Pannu said, “Ravneet Bittu should stop asking rhetorical questions and instead seek answers from his own party leadership, Sunil Jakhar and Captain Amarinder Singh, who are the biggest advocates of an alliance with the Badals. Punjab’s people are watching closely and will not allow the return of those who ruined the state.”