Jalandhar: Ahead of Union home minister Amit Shah’s rally at Jalandhar on Sept 30, Punjab BJP presented around a dozen drug-affected families before the media here on Monday. The saffron party has been undertaking four Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatras since September 18 which would conclude at Shah’s rally.State BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon and state media head Vineet Joshi presented these families before the media. Bilga resident Ramesh said, “My two sons died because of drugs. My wife has also passed away, and I have lost my eyesight. There is no one left for me—no one to look after me. I spend my nights at a gurdwara. I do not know who will light my funeral pyre when I die.”A woman from Tilak Nagar said she had lost both her sons to drugs. “Both my sons died because of drugs. After one of them died, his wife and child left the house. The other had two wives and two children, and they too left. Whatever we had was eventually lost. Drugs are available in almost every neighbourhood in Tilak Nagar. We feel helpless,” she said.After listening to the affected families, Punjab BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon said their experiences reflected the ground-level reality of the drug problem in Punjab.“Punjab govt’s policy has become one of beating people and not even allowing them to cry. Instead of taking effective steps to curb drugs, attempts were being made to silence those raising their voices against the menace,” he said.
