AAP unveils multi-level plan to combat drug menace, launches state-wide drive

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal, alongside Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Punjab affairs in-charge Manish Sisodia, addressed a volunteers’ meeting in Ludhiana on Tuesday as the party intensifies its campaign for the Ludhiana West Assembly bypoll. AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora has been named the party’s candidate for the seat.

Addressing AAP’s executive summit, Kejriwal outlined the Aam Aadmi Party’s mission to eliminate drugs from Punjab.

AAP leaders and volunteers, along with Kejriwal, took the oath, “I am the true son of Punjab’s sacred soil. I am a true volunteer of AAP. Today, I swear by the soil of Punjab that I will never consume drugs myself and will work tirelessly to keep my friends, family, and society away from drugs. I will report drug sales to the police and will not be afraid. I choose education over drugs, progress over destruction, and revolution over silence. As a true soldier of AAP, I vow not to rest until Punjab is drug-free.”

He announced that AAP’s mass outreach campaign to villages, originally scheduled for April 1, was postponed due to the harvest season but will now begin next month.

Starting tomorrow, we will launch citywide ‘padyatras’ with school and college students, where they will take an oath against drugs, he said.

He also outlined the future steps in the campaign, stating that from May 1, he, along with the party leaders, CM, cabinet ministers, MLAs, and administrative officers, would visit every village. “Block presidents will visit 10 villages each and spread the message that no drug peddler will be allowed in the village. The government has set up a Village Defence Committee against drugs, and we will work closely with them to ensure the eradication of drugs from our villages,” he added.

Addressing the party workers, Mann said:“In 2022, public has given the verdict by making us win 92 seats which have now gone to 95. Sarpanch and Mayors have also been elected from AAP.

In the past month alone, around 2,500 cases have been registered against drug traffickers, and approximately 4,500 people have been arrested. Addressing a press conference, Manish Sisodia, along with AAP Punjab president Aman Arora, said on April 2, another campaign against drugs will be launched in Ludhiana.