Need public support to make India drugs-free: Shah
‘Govt will make sure our schools, colleges are kept free from narco menace’
India will continue to adopt a zero-tolerance towards narcotics and will never consider the prospect of legalising drugs for the sake of earning revenues, said Union home minister Amit Shah, while speaking at the sidelines of the regional conference on national security and drug trafficking in virtual mode on Friday.
After a comprehensive review of the intensified and concerted campaign against narcotics with leaders and police officials of the southern states, Mr Shah, during a media interaction, said, “Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has decided to combat drugs through a plethora of strategies, laws and efforts. But public awareness and participation are key to winning this fight.”
On the issue of movies glamourising the use of recreational drugs and narcotics, he said that it was a past trend that is no longer in vogue. “I have personally in my interactions with the movie fraternity and officials of the Censor Board, made an earnest plea to the influential movie industry to join the battle against drugs. I am happy that they are no longer making drugs look good and instead they are helping expose the dangers of indulging in such addictive vices.”
On the allied issue of bringing OTT under censorship, the Union home minister said that it was a complicated and tangential matter, the licensing and tax rules insist on no tolerance towards the positive depiction of drugs.
Accepting that cross-border smuggling of drugs was a comprehensive problem, and there were serious risks to national security as well as the future of youth, he said, “India will battle this on all fronts. We are bringing in changes to the curriculum to educate children. We are also engaging with different departments to ensure our schools and colleges are kept free from the menace.”
Calling it a misnomer that higher seizure of drugs and registration of drug-related crimes, he said, “between 2006 to 2013, there were 1,257 cases registered, which grew by 181 per cent to 3,544 between 2014 to 2022; but it only because we are strengthening policing mechanisms. More than twice the amount of drugs was caught, whose value was nearly 30 times more. It is our better vigilance and commitment that is showing results.”
Explaining the national strategy, Mr Shah said, “we are adopting a threepronged strategy including better coordination with narco agencies, strengthening the institutional framework, and awareness campaigns. A new national helpline has been launched.”
Asking everyone to join the campaign, beyond politics, he said, “we won’t even say it is our government’s initiative or our success. Let everyone help make India free of drugs.”