Amit Shah to visit Punjab on Oct 20, says BJP leader Ravneet Bittu

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Punjab on October 20, BJP leader Ravneet Singh Bittu said on Sunday, without sharing further details of the visit.

“Punjab welcomes Hon’ble Union Home Minister Shri @AmitShah Ji on his visit to Punjab on 20th October,” Bittu, a former Union minister, said in a post on X.

At a time when Punjab is battling the grave menace of drugs, we need decisive action, strong leadership and a firm resolve to secure our youth and our future, he said.

The AAP government in Punjab has lost its mandate much before the completion of its term, Bittu said, appealing to Punjabis to support Shah and have faith in the BJP’s mission to make the state drug-free.

"Let us unite to save Punjab's youth and reclaim Punjab's future," he further said.

Shah to visit Punjab for second time in a month

It will be Shah’s second visit to Punjab within a month. He had visited Jalandhar on September 30 and addressed a rally marking the culmination of the BJP’s ‘Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra’, which began on September 18.

Protest in Mansa seeks justice for anti-drug activist

Shah’s visit comes amid a protest in Mansa seeking justice for anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota, who was shot dead on October 13.

Jhota, known for raising his voice against the illegal sale of addictive substances at chemist shops, was shot in broad daylight inside a medical store in a busy marketplace in Mansa.

Ashwani Kumar, the store owner who allegedly opened fire on Jhota after he questioned him over the sale of addictive drugs to an elderly man, was taken into custody from Salasar in Rajasthan.

Centre to seek Punjab government's response over two incidents

On Friday, Shah said the Centre would seek the Punjab government’s response over two incidents in the state, a father allegedly consuming poison under pressure in Dirba and the broad-daylight killing of Jhota in Mansa.