Singer Honey Singh, who has been vocal about his years-long struggle with alcohol and cannabis addiction, met senior BJP leader Tarun Chugh as they together sought to send an anti-drug message ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections scheduled by early 2027.
“I came to Taron Gee Speaking in Punjabi, Honey Singh, whose stage name has the prefix “Yo Yo”, said: “Today let’s share with him what is happening in Punjab, especially because of ‘chita’ (heroin).”
Honey on drugs
“A lot of families have been destroyed, the entire youth has been destroyed,” Hani Singh, a Delhi resident with roots in Punjab, said in a video he shared with Chugh. “We were thinking how to keep Punjab away from Chitta in any way possible, and the master is really working hard on this.”
The BJP is hoping to be a factor in AAP-ruled Punjab where there are currently only two MLAs in the 117-seat House, and has been only a junior partner to the Shiromani Akali Dal with which Union Home Minister Amit Shah has already ruled out a re-ally.
Honey Singh was given a shawl as a mark of respect, but he is yet to officially join the BJP.
He has a very inspiring life: Chug
Chugh also spoke in Punjabi in the video: “Yo Yo Honey Singh is a son of Punjab and he is famous all over the world, be it in Bollywood or now starting his journey in Hollywood. He has a very inspiring life – how a man reaches the heights, and after falling into bad company, penances for eight years to get out of that company, comes back, and then reaches the number one spot in the singing business.”
Cho, an Amritsar native who serves as the BJP’s national general secretary, said he had “made a request” to Honey Singh “to use his voice, music, singing and lyrics to inspire the children of Punjab to get out of ‘cheetah’, hashish and flavour”.
Having unsuccessfully contested the Punjab Assembly elections from Amritsar Central constituency in 2012 and 2017, Chugh remains a key organizational face of the BJP. More recently, he was seen to have been instrumental in seven Rajya Sabha MPs defecting from the AAP – six of them from Punjab – to the BJP. This shift gave the BJP six of the seven SP seats in Punjab, the state it is most focused on after conquering West Bengal, another state where the party rose from being a mere player to a ruler.
“In Punjab, the land of teachers, pirs and prophets, the land of five rivers – today the Chita River is flowing there, and this river is turning into a tsunami that is devouring the youth of Punjab,” Zhou said.
He said that Honey Singh’s voice has the blessings of Goddess Saraswati, Bhole Baba and the Gurus and hence he should use it for a good cause.
“Based on his life experience, if Honey Singh can come out of this quagmire (addiction), then every child in Punjab can come out. If Honey Singh can come back, then, children, you too can become Honey Singh. If you feel, or if someone says, that you have only six months of life left or that you cannot get rid of drugs, look at Honey Singh… Come, my brothers and children of Punjab, let us learn from Honey Singh and come out of the world of ‘chitta’.” Beatings, charas and injections Chugh also said: “Medications cannot make you stop drugs; You need to pray to God Almighty.”
“Miracle” honey and controversies
Honey Singh’s pledge to combat the drug crisis in Punjab stands in sharp contrast to a profession that has been heavily criticized for fueling that same subculture. For more than a decade, the rapper and music producer has faced massive public and legal backlash over song lyrics that allegedly glorified drug use and the mutilation of women.
His first underground tracks returned to the limelight last March following a removal order by the Delhi High Court.
Irrespective of the previous baggage, in August 2025, the Punjab State Women’s Commission issued a notice to him following the public outcry over his song “Millionaire” from the album “Glory” due to lyrics that were allegedly offensive to women.
Amidst this, regarding drugs in particular, Honey Singh has been trying to make a massive pivot, and is now talking about an anti-drug movement.
Punjab and drugs
Drug addiction has been a major political issue in Punjab in several elections over the past two decades. Prime Minister Bhagwant Mann recently renewed his pledge to eradicate the crisis by taking public oath.
The AAP government is running a ‘Yuddh Nasheyan Viruddh’ (War on Drugs) campaign to arrest peddlers and promise rehabilitation.
