Chandigarh, Sep 11: The BJP will organise four statewide ‘Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatras’ to cover all 117 Assembly constituencies and turn the fight against drugs into a mass public movement, party’s Punjab unit chief Kewal Singh Dhillon said on Friday.
Dhillon said BJP national president Nitin Nabin will flag off the first yatra on September 18 from Ekta Sthal at Madhopur in Sujanpur, Pathankot.
The yatras, being held under the slogan “Bhajpa Da Naara, Nasha Mukauna Saara”, will highlight what the BJP described as three major challenges facing Punjab — the growing drug menace, deteriorating law and order, and corruption in governance.
The BJP has announced that it will contest all 117 Assembly seats in the upcoming Punjab polls.
Addressing reporters in the presence of BJP national vice president Manpreet Singh Badal and senior leaders Sunil Jakhar and Ashwani Sharma, Dhillon said the campaign was not merely an anti-drug initiative but an effort to address the wider threat posed by drug abuse to Punjab’s culture, values and identity.
He said drug addiction was destroying families and pushing Punjab’s youth towards substance abuse, contributing to crime, violence and gang-related activities.
Dhillon said the crisis was also placing a heavy financial burden on families, with many being forced into debt or selling land and other assets to meet treatment expenses.
Giving details of the four yatras, he said the first would begin from Madhopur on September 18 and conclude in Jalandhar, passing through Assembly constituencies in Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, Kapurthala and Jalandhar districts.
The second yatra will start from Sri Fatehgarh Sahib on September 19 and culminate in Jalandhar, covering constituencies in Fatehgarh Sahib, Mohali, Ropar, Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahr, Balachaur and Phagwara, among others.
The third yatra will commence from the Sadiqi Border in Fazilka on September 20 and conclude in Jalandhar. It will cover constituencies across Fazilka, Muktsar, Faridkot, Moga, Ludhiana, Malerkotla and adjoining areas.
The fourth yatra will begin from Talwandi Sabo on September 21 and end in Jalandhar, passing through constituencies in Bathinda, Mansa, Barnala, Sangrur and Patiala districts.
Dhillon said the yatras were aimed at mobilising people and building a collective movement against drugs while highlighting other issues concerning the state.
On Thursday, BJP national general secretary and Punjab affairs in-charge Satish Poonia held a series of meetings with senior party leaders in Chandigarh to review preparations for the campaign.
