NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab on Thursday announced that it will launch a full-scale offensive against gangsters, modelled on its ongoing ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’ anti-drug campaign. The announcement was made by AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann while meeting newly elected zila parishad and block samiti members.Kejriwal said all gangster networks in the state would be “eliminated” after the anti-drug drive. Citing AAP’s victory on over 70% seats in recent panchayat polls as a mandate for clean politics, he said the elections were the cleanest in Punjab’s history. Mann added that “pro-people governance” had forced traditional parties to rewrite their manifestos.Kejriwal contrasted the polls with past elections marked by booth-capturing, coercion and “gundagardi”, noting that this time over 600 seats saw margins under 100 votes, more than 350 of which were won by the opposition, including some by a single vote. He argued AAP did not misuse power or indulge in coercion, calling it a party of “ordinary and decent people” and noting that most newly elected members, like him and Mann, come from non-political families. On the drug crackdown, Kejriwal credited the government’s “political will and courage”. Mann attacked the Congress and Akalis as parties without agendas. Senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia said the mandate showed public trust in the government’s pro-people and development-oriented policies.
