Madhopur (Pathankot): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by national president Nitin Nabin, launched its 13-day Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra from Ekta Sthal in Madhopur, Pathankot, on Friday. 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 elections.
Flagging off the campaign’s first leg at the memorial site of Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee, Nabin said that 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.
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.
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.
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.
Punjab BJP chief 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.
The campaign comprises four yatra routes traversing over 4,000km across all 117 assembly constituencies. The first yatra was launched from Madhopur (Pathankot) on Friday. The second yatra begins from Fatehgarh Sahib on September 19, while the third yatra will begin from Sadqi border in Fazilka on September 20 and the fourth yatra begins on September 21 from Takht Sri Damdama Sahib (Talwandi Sabo, Bathinda).
The combined initiative will culminate in a rally in Jalandhar on September 30, to be addressed by Union home minister Amit Shah.
Senior BJP leaders, including Satish Poonia, Tarun Chugh, Sunil Jakhar, Manpreet Singh Badal, Saudan Singh, Preneet Kaur, Raghav Chadha, and Iqbal Singh Lalpura, attended the event, which concluded with campaign vehicles flagging off to chants of “Bhajpa da naara, nasha mukauna saara (BJP’s slogan: Eradicate drugs completely).”