BJP launches 13-day Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra from Pathankot

The BJP on Friday launched a 13-day statewide 'Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra' from Pathankot, seeking to centre the political conversation on substance abuse in Punjab ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections. The campaign will travel through all 117 assembly constituencies and conclude in Jalandhar on September 30.

Flagging off the first yatra, the party's national president, Nitin Nabin, said drugs should not become Punjab's identity. He argued that the State's true identity rests on its spiritual heritage, the labour of its farmers and the spirit of its sportspersons, and that the people of Punjab would themselves lead the fight against addiction.

Mr. Nabin said the party's strategy would focus on targeting drug traffickers, dismantling supply networks, confiscating the proceeds of the trade, rehabilitating those affected by addiction, and building the campaign through public participation. He described the effort as an attempt to turn the anti-drug drive into a people's movement, with dialogue forums and social organisations drawn into the campaign.

Addressing the gathering, he said he had come to connect with the pain felt in households across the State and to carry a message of de-addiction to every Punjabi. He linked the initiative to the party's wider record, citing the abrogation of Article 370 and efforts against terrorism and Naxalism, and said the BJP stood by the promises it made. He also referred to a party resolution on August 2 to eliminate drugs from the country.

Mr. Nabin turned his criticism towards the ruling AAP government in Punjab, alleging that those in power had altered the State's identity and were harming its younger generations. He accused the government of treating the anti-drug fight as a route to political power and of failing to grasp the distress of ordinary families. He further alleged that the administration wanted to silence those speaking out against drugs, and warned that the voices of Punjab could not be suppressed.