Amit Shah to launch BJP's campaign against drugs in Punjab

Ludhiana, Jan 2: BJP President Amit Shah will launch his party's campaign against drugs in Punjab on January 22.

Stating this BJP's national Secretary Tarun Chugh said that the campaign would be launched from Amritsar under the aegis of the party's youth wing. Saffron party's youth leader and MP Anurag Thakur and Punjab BJP chief Kamal Sharma would be supervising the campaign, he said.

"The party's drive would cover the state in three phases, with its culmination to take place on the occasion of Baisakhi on April 14," Chugh said. He said that party workers would move from village to village in the state to create awareness about drug menace and educate people on the colossal harm that the drugs are doing to the state. The BJP leader lashed out at the opposition Congress "for shedding only crocodile tears over the drug issue".

To a question, he refuted that differences had cropped up between BJP and its ally Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab on various issues including the drug issue. He, however, said that BJP, a coalition partner in the Parkash Singh Badal led state government "certainly wants the ouster of Revenue Minister Bikram Sigh Majithia...as he had been summoned by Enforcement Directorate in the Rs 6,000 crore drug racket case".

Regarding SAD's proposed dharnas on January 5 against drug menace, he said BJP was of the view that SAD should not have announced to hold any demonstration against the BSF.

This would have amounted to an attempt to demoralise the forces deployed on the border, Chug said. Earlier, the ruling SAD had diluted its stand on its proposed sit-ins on drug smuggling.

The BJP ally had on Sunday announced that it will organise 'dharnas' on the international border on January 5 to "pressurise the BSF" to stop entry of drugs from "Pakistan".

However, a day later, the SAD said it will hold three dharnas near the IB check points to "create awareness" about drugs as well as focus on the need for greater vigilance along the border with Pakistan.

PTI