It's PM Modi, HM Shah's vision to free Punjab youth from drugs: Arjun Ram Meghwal 

Amritsar, Sep 25 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) state-level anti-drug march, "Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra", led by party's Amritsar Urban District President Salil Kapoor, reached the final leg on Friday morning. 

Addressing the gathering, Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal highlighted the changes that have taken place in India during the tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

Joining him on stage were former MP and former State BJP President Shwet Malik, MP Vikramjit Singh Sahni, former MP and former State BJP President Sunil Jakhar, Bakshi Ram Arora, district General Secretary Manish Sharma, Manav Taneja, Rajbir Sharma, and Rahul Maheshwari. 

Hundreds of motorcyclists, led by BJP Yuva Morcha District General Secretary Karna Beri, led the march and, holding anti-drug posters, party flags and placards, reiterated their resolve to make the society drug-free. 

Union Minister Meghwal said, "India's fiscal landscape since the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in July 2017 has changed. The reform had strengthened the country's tax architecture, enabling greater investment in infrastructure across the nation, a shift credited to PM Narendra Modi's long-term economic vision. Now, PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah had taken a firm Sankalp or pledge, to free the state's youth from the grip of drugs, and we will achieve it." 

The Union Minister added that narcotics are now being peddled with alarming ease inside hospitals, schools, jails, and public spaces across the state. 

He said the law and order machinery had deteriorated to the point where police are shielding smugglers while going after vulnerable victims instead. 

"This is happening because of corrupt elements from Delhi relocating to Punjab. This yatra is not merely a political exercise, but instead as a movement for social reform aimed at safeguarding the state's youth." 

Citing the BJP's track record, Meghwal said the party's handling of organised crime in Uttar Pradesh, Left-wing extremism in West Bengal and Chhattisgarh, terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, and examination paper leaks in Rajasthan as evidence of its ability to follow through on tough commitments. 

He appealed for unity to protect "Rangla Punjab" and pledged that, once in power, the BJP would confront the drug crisis as the state's foremost challenge and uproot it entirely.

--IANS

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