BJP Leaders in Jammu Criticise ‘Selective’ Demolition Drive in Anti-Drug Campaign, Demand Action Against Officials and Politicians

More than a month after the launch of the “Nasha Mukt Jammu and Kashmir” campaign, a group of former BJP-backed municipal councillors in Jammu have publicly questioned the ongoing demolition drive targeting alleged drug smugglers and peddlers.

The leaders argued that the action appeared “one-sided” and demanded that authorities also take strict measures against politicians, police personnel, and officials allegedly linked to the narcotics network.

The anti-drug campaign, launched on April 11 by Manoj Sinha, has resulted in the demolition of 81 houses and other immovable properties allegedly belonging to drug peddlers and smugglers across Jammu and Kashmir.

However, the demolitions have triggered growing political criticism from both ruling and opposition parties.

Leaders from the National Conference, Indian National Congress, and the opposition People’s Democratic Party have described the demolitions as “selective,” “extra-judicial,” and unfair to family members who may have no connection to the alleged crimes.

On Monday, nearly two dozen former councillors associated with the BJP staged a protest near the statue of Maharaja Hari Singh close to the Tawi bridge in Jammu.

During the demonstration, the protesters raised slogans demanding that police personnel allegedly involved in protecting or facilitating the drug trade should also be exposed and investigated.

Former Jammu mayor Rajinder Sharma said that while the administration’s crackdown on narcotics was welcome, the campaign would remain incomplete unless action was also taken against influential individuals within the system who allegedly enabled the illegal trade to flourish.

Sharma argued that if authorities are demolishing the homes of accused drug peddlers, then similar action should also be taken against the properties of politicians, police officials, and administrative officers who may have patronised or supported them.

According to him, dismantling the narco-terror network requires going beyond small operators and targeting the entire ecosystem behind the trade.

Highlighting the scale of the drug problem in Jammu and Kashmir, Sharma claimed that nearly one lakh people in the Union Territory have died due to drug abuse over the years.

He said the number was alarmingly high and even exceeded the combined casualties suffered during the wars fought with Pakistan in 1965, 1971, and 1999, including the loss of Army personnel.

The former mayor also referred to a 2023 report by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment, which estimated that over 13.5 lakh people in Jammu and Kashmir are addicted to various substances.

According to the report, nearly 95,000 people are dependent on opioids, reflecting the seriousness of the growing addiction crisis in the region.

While acknowledging the efforts initiated by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Sharma stressed that much stronger and broader measures are now required because the drug menace has reached deeply worrying levels.

He described narcotics trafficking not merely as a law-and-order issue, but as a serious social and security challenge linked to “narco-terrorism.”

Sharma also demanded a thorough investigation into the larger network allegedly involved in the narcotics trade, claiming that drugs worth more than ₹25,000 crore are being circulated.

He called for those arrested during the anti-drug drive to be kept in high-security custody, expressing concern that key accused could be harmed in an attempt to destroy evidence against influential people allegedly connected to the network.

In another striking demand, he suggested that trials of alleged drug peddlers should be broadcast live so that the public can witness the proceedings and understand the scale of the problem.

According to Sharma, greater transparency would help expose those responsible for enabling the spread of narcotics in the Union Territory.