‘You too can be him’: BJP leader collabs with singer Honey Singh for anti-drugs appeal to Punjab youth

SInger Honey Singh, who has been vocal nearly his years-long battle with habituation to inebriant and hemp, met senior BJP leader Tarun Chugh as they together sought to send out a message against drugs ahead of the Punjab assembly elections due by early 2027.“I came to Tarun ji today to share with him what is happening to Punjab, especially because of 'chitta' (heroin),” Honey Singh, whose stage name carries the prefix ‘Yo Yo’, said, speaking in Punjabi.Honey on drugsA Delhi resident with roots in Punjab, Honey Singh further said in a video he posted with Chugh, “So many families are being ruined, the entire youth is being ruined. We were thinking about how to distance Punjab from 'chitta' in any way possible, and Sir is already working very hard on this.”The BJP is hoping to be a factor in AAP-ruled Punjab where it currently has just two MLAs in a House of 117, and has only ever been a junior partner of the Shiromani Akali Dal with which a re-alliance has already been ruled out by Union home minister Amit Shah.Honey Singh was given a shawl as a mark of respect but has not yet formally joined the BJP.He has a very inspiring life: ChughChugh also spoke, in Punjabi, in the video: “Yo Yo Honey Singh is a son of Punjab who is name famous across the world, whether it's Bollywood or now starting his journey in Hollywood. He has a very inspiring life — how a man reaches heights, and after falling into bad company, he does penance for eight years to get out of that company, returns, and then reaches number one in the field of singing.” A native of Amritsar who is BJP's national general secretary, Chugh said he had “made a request” to Honey Singh “that he should use his voice, his music, his singing, and his words to inspire the children of Punjab to get out of 'chitta', hashish, and smack”.Having unsuccessfully contested the Punjab assembly elections from the Amritsar Central constituency in both 2012 and 2017, Chugh remains a major organisational face of the BJP. Recently he was seen as being instrumental in the defection of seven Rajya Sabha MPs of the AAP — six of them from Punjab — to the BJP. That switch gave the BJP six of the seven RS seats in Punjab, a state where it is focusing heavily after conquering West Bengal, another state where it rose from being a non-player to ruler.“In my Punjab, the land of gurus, pirs, and prophets, the land of five rivers —today a river of 'chitta' is flowing there, and that river is becoming a tsunami that is consuming the youth of my Punjab,” Chugh claimed.He said Honey Singh's voice has “the blessings of Goddess Saraswati, Bhole Baba, and the Gurus”, thus he should use it for a good cause.“Based on his life experience, if Honey Singh can come out of that quagmire (of addiction), every child of Punjab can come out. If Honey Singh can make a comeback, then, children, you too can become a Honey Singh. If you feel, or if someone says, that you only have six months of life left or you can't get out of drugs, then look at Honey Singh... Come, my brothers and children of Punjab, let's learn from Honey Singh and come out of this world of 'chitta', smack, charas, and injections.” Chugh also said, “Medicines cannot make you quit drugs; you need the prayers of the Almighty."Honey's ‘miracle’ and controversiesHoney Singh’s pledge to combat Punjab's drug crisis stands in sharp contrast to a career heavily critiqued for fueling that very subculture. For over a decade, the rapper-cum-music producer faced immense public and legal backlash for lyrics on allegedly glorifying substance abuse and objectifying women.His earliest underground tracks returned to the limelight this March after a Delhi High Court takedown order.Past baggage aside, in August 2025 the Punjab State Women's Commission issued a notice to him following public outrage over his track ‘Millionaire’ from the album ‘Glory’ over lyrics that were allegedly offensive to women.Amid this, on drugs especially, Honey Singh has been attempting a massive pivot, now speaking of an anti-drugs movement.Punjab and drugsDrug addiction has been a major political issue in Punjab for multiple elections over the past two decades. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann recently renewed his vow to eradicate the crisis with a public oath.The AAP government has been running a ‘Yuddh Nasheyan Viruddh’ (War On Drugs) campaign to arrest peddlers and promising rehab.