Pathankot: The BJP’s ‘Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra’, which the party says is drawing an encouraging response across the state, has come under criticism from a section of farmers who have questioned the Centre’s role in checking the supply of drugs into Punjab through the international border with Pakistan.The criticism comes as the BJP has launched a 13-day statewide campaign against drugs, with four yatras covering all 117 Assembly constituencies and around 4,000 km before culminating in Jalandhar on Sept 30.Farmers’ leader Sarwan Singh Pandher questioned the BJP’s decision to project itself as a force against drugs when border security, through the BSF, falls under the BJP-led Centre. He asked why the party was taking out a yatra against drugs in Punjab when consignments continued to be smuggled across the India-Pakistan border, including through drones.“Punjab shares over 550 km of international border with Pakistan. Is this international border not under the Centre, ruled by the BJP? If drones are being used daily to push drugs into Punjab, who is responsible for stopping it?” Pandher asked.He said the BJP should spell out the concrete steps taken to curb cross-border drug smuggling instead of placing the entire responsibility for the menace on the Punjab government.The BJP launched its Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra on Friday from Ekta Sthal at Madhopur in Pathankot, with national president Nitin Nabin flagging off the first leg. The party has projected the campaign as a mass movement against drug abuse and trafficking.Addressing a rally at Taragarh, BJP Parliamentary Committee member and former National Commission for Minorities chairman Iqbal Singh Lalpura said the campaign was aimed at protecting Punjab’s youth and society from drugs. He called for disrupting the supply chain, targeting drug-trafficking kingpins and confiscating properties allegedly acquired through drug money.Former Punjab minister Manoranjan Kalia said Punjab, which had contributed significantly to the country’s food security and national defence, was facing a serious challenge from narcotics. He also targeted the AAP government over its promise to make Punjab drug-free, saying the results had not matched its claims.
