The tragic hooch incident in Majitha, Amritsar district, has triggered a political storm in Punjab. Opposition parties have come down heavily on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Government, accusing it of negligence, shielding the liquor mafia, and turning its anti-drug campaign into a mere political spectacle.   Congress, BJP, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), and other political leaders have launched scathing attacks on Chief Minister Bhagwant Manns administration, demanding a high-level judicial inquiry and the immediate resignation of Excise Minister Harpal Singh Cheema.   Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, expressing sorrow over the loss of lives, called the deaths cold-blooded murders of unsuspecting people. He demanded adequate compensation for the victims families and asked for strict accountability. This tragedy clearly indicates large-scale manufacturing of spurious liquor, which could not have been possible without the connivance or negligence of the authorities. Excise officials dont allow unauthorized liquor shops to open, then how did an entire illegal distillery operate undetected? Warring questioned.   Warring reminded Chief Minister Mann of his own 2020 demand for resignation and murder charges against the then Excise Minister when a similar tragedy had occurred under the Congress regime. What stopped him now from taking action against his own minister? Warring asked, adding that the governments promise to eliminate drugs by May 31 now sounds farcical.   Leader of Opposition in Vidhan Sabha and senior Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa held Chief Minister Mann personally accountable for the tragedy. If the liquor mafia is flourishing under his nose, the CM is either complicit — or incompetent, Bajwa declared, adding that the deaths expose the toxic nexus between politicians, bureaucrats, and bootleggers.   Bajwa also drew attention to a similar incident in March last year in Dirba, where eight people died after consuming illicit liquor. The government clearly didnt learn any lessons from the past, Bajwa said. He called the states anti-drug campaign a PR exercise and demanded a judicial probe led by a sitting judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.   The Excise Minister must resign. Anything less would be an insult to the lives lost, he said, adding that sympathy statements are not enough — Punjabis want justice.   Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar launched a blistering critique of AAP, claiming that individuals previously jailed in Delhis liquor scam are now unofficially running the Punjab Government from Chandigarh. How can we expect clean governance when the very architects of the Delhi liquor policy are guiding Punjabs policy? Jakhar questioned. He alleged that the liquor mafia from Delhi has found fertile ground in Punjab, where they exploit the poor under political patronage.   Calling CM Mann a puppet, Jakhar held AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia responsible for Punjabs descent into lawlessness. After being rejected by Delhis voters, they have now shifted their experiments to Punjab, he claimed.   Jakhar announced that the BJP delegation will meet Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria to demand a probe into the hooch tragedy and the role of non-elected AAP leaders operating from behind the scenes.   Senior SAD leader and former Majitha MLA Bikram Singh Majithia said that the tragedy was a state-sponsored disaster and accused the government of shielding those responsible. Excise officials are complicit. The government has failed to dismantle the bootlegging network despite repeated tragedies, he said, demanding Rs 25 lakh compensation for each victims family.   Echoing the outrage, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal called the tragedy Punjabs fourth hooch disaster in three years and branding it the outcome of AAPs criminal inaction. Sukhbir, in a social media post, said: AAP government has blood on its hands. Ruling party leaders are directly involved in this illicit trade. Illegal distilleries are flourishing while innocent lives are being lost.   Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu also took to X (formerly Twitter) to denounce the AAP governments handling of the situation. Families are shattered by spurious liquor, while the Bhagwant Mann government remains in deep slumber. Their Yudh Nasheyan De Virudh campaign is nothing but political theatre, Bittu wrote. He also questioned Manns credibility in leading an anti-drug campaign, referring indirectly to the Chief Ministers past struggles with alcohol.   Other senior leaders and former Ministers like Parminder Singh Dhindsa and Surjit Singh Rakhra called the deaths official murder and demanded a time-bound magisterial inquiry. They said that the incident reflected the complete breakdown of governance in Punjab under AAP.  

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