Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria’s four-day “Nasha Mukti Yatra”, which was launched on February 9 from Tarn Taran and is scheduled to culminate in Abohar Thursday, has turned into a major political talking point in the state despite being projected as a social campaign against drug abuse.
The Governor’s yatra, undertaken under the banner of “Yuddh Nashyan Viruddh”, shares its slogan with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab government’s own anti-drug campaign, which is already underway through awareness programmes as well as police action.
While Kataria has consistently praised the AAP government’s efforts against drug abuse, including in his Republic Day address, the political optics of the Ferozepur leg of his yatra triggered sharp reactions from the AAP as well as Opposition parties.
On Tuesday, Kataria’s march in Ferozepur turned into a political flashpoint after some senior leaders of allies-turned-rivals, BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), joined his events. While Punjab BJP working president Ashwani Sharma and BJP national executive member Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi walked alongside Kataria during the march, SAD chief Sukhbir Badal later arrived at the Ferozepur School of Eminence, where the Governor delivered an address. As Badal entered, Kataria briefly paused his speech and welcomed him from the dais – a moment that quickly became the centre of a political debate.
In contrast, the principal Opposition Congress’s Ferozepur MP Sher Singh Ghubhaya stayed away from the Governor’s events in both Ferozepur and Fazilka, despite the districts falling under his Lok Sabha constituency. All four AAP MLAs from Ferozepur also skipped the yatra Tuesday, while three AAP MLAs from Fazilka district stayed away from it Wednesday during the yatra’s Fazilka leg.
Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring launched a sharp attack, questioning the Governor’s intent. Reacting to the presence of SAD and BJP leaders in it, Warring asked whether the march against drugs was an attempt to run “Samjhauta Express” to “revive the SAD” ahead of the 2027 Assembly polls and prepare the ground for a “renewed Akali-BJP alliance”, which had broken down during the 2020-21 farmers’ movement against the now-repealed three central farm laws.
Referring to pictures of the Governor and Badal together, Warring said the visuals carried an “obvious political message” that could not be ignored. He also questioned whether the Governor had raised the issue of cross-border drug smuggling with the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), after the Border Security Force (BSF)’s jurisdiction was expanded up to 50 kilometres inside Punjab.
The ruling AAP also objected to the Governor’s Ferozepur march. AAP spokesperson Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal questioned its intent and credibility, adding that the fight against drug abuse must be “sincere and people-centric, not symbolic or politically driven”.
Dhaliwal expressed concern over the presence of the SAD and BJP leaders in Kataria’s yatra, alleging that “these were the same political forces under whose previous regimes drug abuse had spread widely in Punjab”. Standing alongside such leaders sent a “wrong message” to the public and “undermined” the seriousness of the anti-drug movement, he claimed.
On Wednesday, Kataria defended his initiative. He recalled his first visit to Fazilka in July 2024, when women from “Village Defence Committees” urged him to find solutions to the drug problem. “After participating in a drug-free yatra in December 2024, I organised a four-day march from Dera Baba Nanak to Jallianwala Bagh in April 2025 and now this one,” he said, adding that he personally contacted Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, state Cabinet ministers, religious leaders, and other organisations to join this social cause.
Sources said the Lok Bhavan had invited sitting and former MLAs and MPs, NGOs, and the Village Defence Committees across districts. However, neither the ruling AAP nor the Congress joined the yatra at any stage, while the SAD and BJP leaders joined it on multiple stretches.
SAD spokesperson Daljeet Singh Cheema defended his party’s participation, saying the Governor represents the entire state and any invitation from the Lok Bhavan should be respected. “The AAP and Congress shouldn’t politicise a social cause after staying away from the campaign. Even political party leaders attend all-party meetings called by the CM,” Cheema said.
BJP working president Ashwani Sharma said, “I was part of this yatra after getting an invite from the Governor. Rather than explaining why AAP MLAs themselves stayed away from a Governor’s event, they are raising fingers against others. This shows how serious they are against drugs. It is a new low in politics.” He added that the AAP and Congress should “respect the constitutional post of Governor”.
The yatra will conclude in Abohar Thursday, where state BJP president Sunil Jakhar’s nephew Sandeep Jakhar, a suspended Congress MLA, is expected to be present.