Modi takes on drug abuse on radio

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday asked the youth to say “no” to drugs, and called upon the parents to make them ambitious, so that they spend their time and energy in chasing their dreams and not waste their lives.

Addressing the nation during the programme “Man Ki Baat” on All India Radio (AIR), the prime minister on Sunday also said he had asked the directors-general of police of all the states to launch a helpline for those seeking de-addiction, after an elaborate discussion on the ways and means to check the menace at a conference of police chiefs, held in Assam in the last week of November.

He also encouraged people to launch an anti-drug campaign across the country, as well as a continuous “#DrugsFreeIndia” campaign on social media, saying that family, friends, society, government and the law would have to work together to fight drug addiction, which is a “psycho-socio-medical problem”.

“You may be thinking that taking drugs is a style statement or cool. It is neither. It just leads to devastation. Have you ever thought that the money you spend on drugs might be going to terrorists who use it to buy bullets to kill our soldiers? You love Mother India and have regard for the soldiers. How can you help terrorists, the drug mafia and their illicit trade?” Modi asked drug addicts.

He described drug addiction as a “malaise-filled 3D—darkness, destruction and devastation”.

In an effort to motivate the youth to shun drugs, he referred to the “enthusiasm” of the Indian Blind Cricket Team which recently met him after winning the World Cup.