Bathinda: The BJP’s Nasha Mukt Yatra would protect generations of Punjabis from drugs and put the state on the fast track to development, Union law minister Arjun Meghwal said while flagging off the third leg of the yatra in Fazilka on Sunday.Meghwal also visited the Asafwala Shaheedi memorial, where he paid floral tributes to soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice for the nation. He was accompanied by BJP national general secretary and Punjab BJP in charge Satish Poonia, state president Kewal Singh Dhillon, former state president Sunil Jakhar and former minister Surjit Kumar Jyani.Addressing the gathering, Meghwal said the yatra was not a political campaign but a social reform initiative. Citing the Guru Granth Sahib, the minister urged people to refrain from indulging in anything that could affect the mind, intellect and sense of discretion.Punjab BJP state president Kewal Singh Dhillon said, “Those who had spread the scourge of drugs have been rattled by the BJP’s Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra. The yatra has put the chief minister on the back foot.”Referring to the Mohanjeet Sheron and Gulzar Singh incidents reported in Sangrur in recent days, Dhillon alleged that the govt was suppressing voices speaking out against drugs.Former Punjab BJP state president Sunil Jakhar claimed that while deaths had so far been occurring due to drug abuse, more people were now dying for raising their voices against drugs. He alleged that some people were being killed by drug smugglers, while others were being forced to commit suicide for having raised questions.Launching an attack on Arvind Kejriwal, Jakhar said the 79,000 drug related arrests made in the state reflected the extent to which the younger generation had been pushed into the drug crisis.BJP national vice-president Manpreet Singh Badal said the drug crisis in Punjab could affect the country as a whole. He added that the Bharatiya Janata Party had resolved to eliminate drugs from Punjab.Those present included advocate H S Phoolka, Abohar MLA Sandeep Jakhar and others.
