Speaker’s Admission Exposes Mann Govt’s Failure on Drugs: Randhawa

Chandigarh, August 31, 2026: Former Punjab Deputy Chief Minister and Member of Parliament Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa described Punjab Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan’s public statement, in which he admitted that the Punjab government has failed to fulfil its guarantee to eliminate drugs, as the biggest acknowledgment of the Mann government’s failure.
Randhawa said this was not an allegation made by the opposition, but a statement by a person holding one of the highest constitutional positions in the state, who has brought the reality behind the Aam Aadmi Party’s claims before the people.
Randhawa said that the Aam Aadmi Party had promised during the 2022 Assembly elections to make Punjab drug-free, while Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann repeatedly claimed that his government would wage a decisive battle against drugs and eradicate the menace from Punjab. However, more than four years later, the Assembly Speaker himself is admitting that the government has failed to fulfil its guarantee. This makes it clear that there is a wide gap between the government’s claims and the ground reality.
He said that the drug problem remains serious in Punjab’s villages and cities even today. Numerous families are struggling to save their children from drug addiction, while the government has remained confined to advertisements and claims. If the government had actually succeeded in curbing the drug menace, its own leaders would not have been compelled to make such an admission.
Randhawa alleged that instead of taking effective action against major drug trafficking networks, the government has focused more on publicity. He said that the battle against drugs cannot be won through statements alone; it requires dismantling organised trafficking networks, ensuring rehabilitation for young people, and enforcing the law impartially.
He demanded that Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann tell the people of Punjab why the guarantee to eliminate drugs could not be fulfilled and who will take responsibility for this failure. Randhawa said that the Congress will take up this issue in Parliament. The future of Punjab’s youth will not be allowed to be put at stake by anyone.