Chandigarh, Oct. 20 -- union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann over the state's drug crisis, saying the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government was free to criticise him but must explain why people campaigning against narcotics trafficking were being killed and why drug networks continued to operate.

"Say whatever you want about me, abuse me as much as you like, but at least put an end to the drug trade," Shah said at a press conference in Ludhiana after visiting three bereaved families in Gurdaspur, Sangrur and Mansa.

Shah accused the Mann government of failing to protect anti-drug campaigners and alleged that large-scale narcotics trafficking could not flourish without political p...