Chandigarh, May 17: Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said a “Nasha Mukti Yatra” will be taken out across Punjab, terming it a people’s revolution to free the state from the menace of drugs.
Addressing an event at Langroya village in Punjab’s SBS Nagar district as part of the ongoing “Yudh Nashian Virudh” campaign, the AAP leader said the war against drugs has turned into a people’s movement against the scourge.
“The entire state is united against drug abuse. The Nasha Mukti Yatra is starting from SBS Nagar today,” the former Delhi chief minister said.
“Over the next one-and-a-half months, we will go to all the 13,000 villages (in the state) and speak to the people. In the cities, we will go to every ward,” said Kejriwal, flanked by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
Punjab ministers, AAP MLAs and party leaders will visit the villages to raise awareness against drugs, he said.
A decisive battle is going on against the drug menace in Punjab, making village after village drug-free, the AAP leader added.
“Everyone must take a pledge that they will not use drugs or allow their sale in the villages. The police and the administration are there to support the people in this movement against drug abuse,” Kejriwal said.
He also urged people to support the local police and refrain from assisting or bailing out individuals involved in drug activities.
“The AAP government is taking steps to rein in the drugs menace, making the biggest recovery so far this year in Tarn Taran district where 85 kg of heroin was seized. More than 10,000 smugglers were arrested in the last two-and-a-half months, including 8,500 big ones,” Kejriwal claimed.
“At the time of polls, we promised to make Punjab drug-free and we are doing our job. If needed, we are ready to sacrifice our lives,” he added.
Kejriwal also said that all efforts will be made to help those falling prey to drug addiction, adding that the rehabilitation centres across the state have been equipped with modern facilities.
Over the next year, gymnasiums and grounds will be established in the villages so that the youth can channelise their energy in a positive manner, Kejriwal said.
The AAP leader also claimed that in the past three years, the AAP government has given government jobs to 55,000 youth purely on merit basis.
“Now, planning is being done on a big scale so that the unemployed youth in every village get jobs,” he said.
Criticising the previous governments “for tarnishing Punjab’s reputation”, Kejriwal said, “Earlier, films like ‘Udta Punjab’ were made about drug abuse in Punjab.”
Addressing another event in Jalandhar district, Kejriwal alleged that the previous regimes not only patronised drug dealers, but also carried out drugs business using government vehicles.
The Bhagwant Mann dispensation will make every effort “to save our coming generations from falling prey to the menace of drugs”, he said.
Speaking at the two events, Chief Minister Mann solicited fulsome support and cooperation of people in the war against drugs.
The scourge of drugs was a blot on the face of the state and it took more than two years for the state government to chalk out a strategy to wipe out this curse, he said.
Subsequently, the supply line of drugs was snapped, the big fish involved were put behind bars, rehabilitation of drug addicts was ensured, and even the properties of the drug smugglers were confiscated and destroyed, Mann said.
The chief minister alleged that contrary to earlier times when the leaders of the state used to “jeopardise” the interests of Punjab, the AAP government is focusing on the overall growth and prosperity of the state.
Giving an example, Mann said the state government vehemently opposed the “draconian move of the Centre, BBMB and Haryana government to steal Punjab’s water”, referring to the recent Bhakra water distribution row with Haryana.
The chief minister also alleged that his predecessors used to extend such largesse for their vested interests “but as a custodian of the state’s water”, he will never allow this.
Having upgraded its canal water system, Punjab now requires water to cater to the needs of its farmers for the upcoming paddy season, Mann said, reiterating that Punjab doesn’t have “even a single drop of extra water to share with the other states”. (PTI)
