BJP vice-prez wants June 26 to be declared a 'dry day'

Member of Parliament and BJP vice-president Avinash Rai Khanna said that June 26 should be declared a dry day across India. 

Khanna has written to the Prime Minister and all chief ministers in this regard. June 26 is observed as the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking as established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1987.

Khanna said the sale of liquor across all vends in the country should be prohibited this Friday. 

The communique by Khanna to Modi seeks an advisory to urge heads of all states and Union territories to declare June 26 as a dry day. 

This, he said, should be done to spread awareness about the menace and to “take a stand against a problem that affects all”. Significantly, Khanna has also suggested that the Prime Minister “inspires” people to act against drug abuse through his radio programme “Mann ki Baat.” 

The BJP MP also communicated his sentiments to party national president Amit Shah and General Secretary BJP (Organisation), Ramlal. 

Healthy India

Khanna said he has even written separate letters in this regards to all CM of states, irrespective of which party is in power in states. “A synergy of efforts has to generated if desired results against drug abuse are to be achieved expeditiously,” Khanna said on Tuesday.

A decision to mark June 26 as a dry day in the country will be another step towards the mission of “Healthy India,” he wrote. Punjab has been battling the menace of drugs for some time now. 

Khanna, in his letters highlighted the ground realities and the connect he and his BJP colleagues have been able to generate with the masses in Punjab since December 2014 when they started to spearhead a robust anti-drug campaign under the aegis of NGO Joshi Foundation.