New Delhi, Sep 22 (IANS) Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Tuesday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of building ‘Viksit Bharat@2047’ cannot be achieved with a youth power and future generation hollowed out by narcotics addiction.
Inaugurating the third National Conference of Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) heads of states/Union Territories (UTs), organised by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) under the theme “United Resolve, Shared Responsibility”, Union Minister Shah said that under the leadership of PM Modi the Union government, over the past five years, has been striving to achieve the difficult goal of a drug-free India.
The two-day national conference, being attended by the heads of ANTFs from 36 states and UTs, along with representatives from other concerned government departments and stakeholders, is focusing on narcotics control, dismantling drug cartels, tackling synthetic drugs and darknet and crypto investigations.
Union Minister Shah said that the time has now come to deliver a decisive step against narcotics, which have become the most serious threats to the country and the world, and to achieve victory through collective efforts.
The Union Minister added that by December 31 2029, we will collectively succeed in uprooting the drug trade from India.
He said that in the past five years we have achieved success against several challenges such as terrorism in Kashmir, insurgency in the Northeast and the problem of Naxalism.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), with the cooperation of all the states, has ended these major problems that have confronted the country for decades.
Union Minister Shah added that the fight against drugs is the most difficult of all battles, but we cannot abandon this fight.
He said that to build a Viksit Bharat by 2047, to save future generations and to connect the youth with India’s development, the only option before us is to make India drug-free.
“We will have to fight this problem unitedly and with passion, and we must achieve victory,” he added.
The Home Minister said that the ‘Vision Document 2026-2029’ is like the holy ‘Gita’ for all those involved in this fight.
“This Vision Document has been prepared with great effort after discussions with more than 35 departments. He (Amit Shah) said that we have prepared the complete roadmap after taking suggestions from all stakeholders, and it has been given to everyone with definite targets,” he added.
The Home Minister said that targets and timelines have also been fixed in it.
He added that it will also be reviewed after some time.
He said that the MHA or the NCB cannot do all this alone.
“We all have to fight this battle with top priority and complete dedication, and we have to win it as well,” he added.
The Union Home Minister said that we have to fight the battle against drugs with clarity.
He added that the focal points of this fight have already been identified, and a roadmap has also been prepared at the state level to take intelligence, investigation, financial action and prosecution in one direction.
He said that in the first ANTF conference we (government stakeholders) had created an institutional mechanism and strengthened it.
“In the second ANTF conference, we (government stakeholders) discussed capability, action and execution in order to convert that mechanism into action.”
“Today, the third ANTF conference will convert this roadmap into a decisive battle.”
On the occasion, Home Minister Shah also released informational video to spread awareness against drugs and laid the foundation stones for the new complexes of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Zones in Lucknow and Dehradun, the statement said.
During the event, the best-performing ANTF of states and UTs were also honoured.
In addition, the Union Home Minister launched the newly-designed website of the NCB.
–IANS
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