Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president Nitin Nabin on Friday launched a 13-day ‘Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra’ from Ekta Sthal in Madhopur, Pathankot. The political and social outreach drive aims to mobilise the public against the state’s drug crisis and build momentum ahead of next year’s assembly election.
Wearing a saffron turban, Nabin addressed the gathering and said that Punjabis want a rising Punjab, not an ‘Udta Punjab’. He said the time had come for a decisive fight against those who, using the power of office, had allegedly promoted corruption and worsened the law-and-order situation, thereby ruining Punjab through drugs.
The yatra commenced with campaign vehicles flagging off to chants of “Bhajpa da naara, nasha mukauna saara” (BJP’s slogan: Eradicate drugs completely).
The ‘yatras’ covering nearly 4,000 kilometres in all 117 assembly constituencies would culminate in a Jalandhar rally addressed by Union home minister Amit Shah on September 30.
Flagging off the campaign’s first leg at the memorial site of Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee near Jammu and Kashmir border, Nabin said Punjab needs opportunities, education and employment rather than substance abuse. Prior to the launch, he met 50 families affected by drug-related deaths and promised political and social support.
On the occasion, Nabin called for a decisive fight against drugs. Attacking the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party government, Nabin accused ruling elements of turning Punjab’s plight into a thriving drug industry through corruption and political patronage. He said the AAP government merely gives “tarikh pe tarikh (date after date)” to resolve the crisis while doing nothing on the ground.
{{/usCountry}}On the occasion, Nabin called for a decisive fight against drugs. Attacking the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party government, Nabin accused ruling elements of turning Punjab’s plight into a thriving drug industry through corruption and political patronage. He said the AAP government merely gives “tarikh pe tarikh (date after date)” to resolve the crisis while doing nothing on the ground.
{{/usCountry}}Nabin outlined a five-point action plan: Direct action against drug traffickers; disruption of interstate and international supply chains; seizure and confiscation of assets built on illicit drug money; medical and psychological rehabilitation for addicted youth; and community mobilisation involving teachers, doctors, athletes, religious bodies, and local youth groups.
Sharing the BJP’s core strategy in its fight against drugs, Nitin Nabin said the approach would include targeting drug traffickers, breaking the drug supply network, confiscating drug money, rehabilitating people affected by drug addiction, and taking the campaign forward with the support of society.
He said, “Today is a very special day. I have come to connect with the pain being experienced in households across Punjab.”
He added that he had come from Patna, the land associated with Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji, to take the message of de-addiction to every Punjabi.
Nabin said that the BJP fulfils the commitments it makes in the country. He said the party had undertaken a long struggle to fulfil its commitment to abrogate Article 370 and had worked to eliminate terrorism and Naxalism.
He said that the BJP had now taken a resolve, on August 2, to eliminate drugs from the country. “I have come with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message to begin this campaign from the soil of Punjab. This is the BJP’s track record, and therefore, we will also eliminate drugs,” he added.
Nabin said that drugs cannot be Punjab’s identity or strength. Punjab’s identity should be its heritage, ideas and youth. He said Punjab’s identity had traditionally been associated with the teachings of the Gurus, the sweat of farmers and the spirit of sportspersons. The people of Punjab, he said, would themselves fight against drugs.
The BJP national president said that people in power in the state had worked to change Punjab’s identity and had worked to destroy its generations. He alleged that the Punjab government had treated the fight against drugs as a key to political power and had failed to understand the pain of the people.
Nitin said that Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatras were being organised from all four directions of the state. Through these yatras, the people of Punjab would be connected with the anti-drug campaign, dialogue would be held with them, and social organisations would also be brought into the campaign.
“Those in power have failed to understand the pain and suffering of families affected by drugs. The Punjab government wants to silence people speaking out against drugs”, he said, warning that the government should understand that the voice of Punjab could not be silenced.
He said that a Dalit man who had raised his voice against drugs was allegedly forced to commit suicide due to government high-handedness. He further alleged that BJP leaders and workers who were going to meet the victim’s family were stopped by workers of the Aam Aadmi Party.
He alleged that instead of breaking the drug network, the state government had worked to weaken the morale of families affected by drugs.
On recent incidents of political violence, including an attack on Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu’s convoy in Batala on Friday, Nabin said that BJP workers would not be intimidated by stones, threats, or administrative pressure.
Addressing the gathering, state BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon highlighted the party’s performance record in other states, stating that the BJP has eliminated Naxalism, ended gang violence in Uttar Pradesh, and restored peace in Kashmir, promising similar action against drugs if voted to power.
BJP national vice-president Manpreet Singh Badal said that Punjab was gradually losing its identity, while Pathankot MLA and former party state president Ashwani Sharma said that by launching the yatra from a historic site associated with Syama Prasad Mookerjee, the BJP had initiated a people’s movement against drugs.
Among others, former Union minister Vijay Sampla, parliamentary committee member Iqbal Singh Lalpura, former Lok Sabha member Preneet Kaur, former Rajya Sabha member Shwait Malik, former Punjab minister Manoranjan Kalia, Mukerian MLA Jangi Lal Mahajan and former deputy speaker of the Punjab Assembly Dinesh Babbu also addressed the gathering.
Those present included BJP national general secretary and Punjab affairs in-charge Satish Poonia, co-in-charge Saudan Singh, co-in-charge Narendra Singh Raina, Rajya Sabha member Tarun Chugh, Rajya Sabha members Vikramjit Sahni, Satnam Singh Sandhu, Raghav Chadha, former Punjab BJP state president Sunil Jakhar, Punjab BJP general secretary Anil Sareen, HS Phoolka, former minister Som Prakash and Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi and several other leaders.