Amit Shah announces three-year nationwide campaign against drugs from March 31
New Delhi (PTI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday announced a crackdown on narcotics from March 31 with a three-year nationwide campaign to weed out the drug menace from the country.
Addressing the 9th Apex-level meeting of the Narco-Coordination Centre (NCORD), Shah said that as part of the collective campaign, a working methodology for all pillars against drug abuse will be defined, targets will be set, and time-bound reviews will be conducted.
According to the date announced by the home minister, the campaign against drugs will be launched immediately after the deadline set by him to wipe out Naxalism ends on March 31.
Shah also virtually inaugurated a Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) office in Amritsar on the occasion.
The meeting, organised in hybrid mode by the NCB, was attended by key stakeholders from Central ministries and departments, representatives from state governments, as well as drug law enforcement agencies, according to a government statement.
Shah directed all the departments to prepare a roadmap by March 31 to deal with the drug problem, establish a monitoring mechanism, and focus completely on it, so that a comprehensive solution can be found.
“In the next three years, we have to fight on all fronts against drugs across the country and make India 'drug-free’, and make every effort to protect the country's youth from drugs,” Shah said.
“Only continuous awareness can keep us safe,” Shah said, and asserted that the government wants to create a permanent system capable of fighting this battle against drugs.
The home minister said the government's policy is clear that no compassion should be shown to those who manufacture or sell narcotics.
“We should move forward with a humanitarian approach towards the victims of drugs,” he said.
In the fight against drugs, all departments of the Central government should prepare a roadmap up to 2029 and establish a time-bound review mechanism for its implementation, he said.
Shah also appealed to all the DGPs to prepare a roadmap for their respective states and take concrete steps for the timely destruction of drugs.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set the goal of making India number one in the world in every field by 2047, when the centenary of Independence is celebrated. To create such an India, it is the responsibility of all of us to provide complete protection to the young generation from drugs,” the home minister said.
He also said that the challenge is linked more to the issue of narco-terror than to law and order, and most importantly, it is a conspiracy to ruin the coming generations of the country.
The health of the youth, their ability to think and perform, and the growing discontent in society are all linked to this problem, he said.
Under Prime Minister Modi, considerable success has been achieved in the past 11 years in the fight against drugs, and after the reorganisation of NCORD in 2019, “we have also ensured the path to complete control over this problem”, Shah said.
“Now we have gained speed and will move forward with a three-pronged plan of action,” he said.
Only a "collective ruthless approach" towards the drug supply chain, a strategic approach towards demand reduction, and a humane approach towards harm reduction will achieve the goal of a drug-free India, he said.
“We must proceed in this fight only by strengthening command, compliance and accountability,” the home minister said.
He added that instead of the number of meetings, their outcomes should be reviewed, with strict action taken against the kingpins of the drug trade, financiers, and logistics routes as subjects of such assessments.
The minister also said that the utilisation of forensic science laboratories (FSLs) and increasing the rate of timely filing of chargesheets and securing convictions should be included in the targets.
A top-to-bottom and bottom-to-top approach is extremely essential for investigating the entire drug network, he said.
From 2004 to 2013, drugs weighing 26 lakh kg worth Rs 40,000 crore were seized, whereas from 2014 to 2025, 1.11 lakh kg of drugs worth Rs 1.71 lakh crore were seized, marking an 11-fold increase, Shah said.
In 2020, opium crop on 10,770 acres of land was destroyed, and by November 2025, crops on 40,000 acres of land were destroyed, he added.
“The NCORD mechanism has a four-tier structure with an apex-level NCORD committee, which is headed by the Union home secretary; an executive-level NCORD committee headed by the special secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs; state-level NCORD committees headed by chief secretaries; and district-level NCORD committees headed by district magistrates,” the statement said.
The mechanism was established in 2016 to enhance coordination between the states, the Ministry of Home Affairs and concerned stakeholders in addressing the challenge of drug menace holistically, it said.
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Bypolls: K'taka Cong Minority Abdul Jabbar chief resigns amid allegations of 'internal conspiracy'
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Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Congress Minority Department President K Abdul Jabbar announced his resignation from the post on Saturday, a day after a group of Muslim leaders accused members of their own party of "conspiring" to defeat the official candidate in Davanagere South.
Jabbar, an MLC, was an aspirant for the Congress ticket from the Davanagere South Assembly segment.
"It has been an honor for me to serve as Chairman of the KPCC Minority department and have worked to the best of my ability during assembly elections 2023 and followed by Parliament polls and many such occasions whenever the party needed the minority department and showed results. I have toured the entire state of Karnataka and worked to align the minorities with Congress values and principles. Most of it is available in the public domain," Jabbar has said in a letter to the party.
"Minority voters and minority office bearers are the backbone of our great Congress party and certainly deserve better," he said.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who is also the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President, confirmed Jabbar's resignation.
"I won't speak about this now, I have got some reports. The Minority President has submitted his resignation. I will verify things, I will seek a report from local leaders after that I will speak," he told reporters in response to a question on internal conspiracy.
A rift within the Karnataka Congress surfaced on Friday, a day after the bypolls to two Assembly constituencies in the state, as a group of Muslim leaders alleged a "conspiracy" by some of their own senior party leaders to defeat the official candidate in Davanagere South.
However, they asserted that despite efforts by some within to project that Congress "betrayed" Muslims, the party candidate Samarth Mallikarjun will win in Davanagere South, the constituency where the community has a significant presence.
They said the party finally named Samarth Mallikarjun as the candidate after considering all factors and taking all Muslim leaders into confidence. Despite this, a massive campaign, including from some within the party, projected the Congress as having "betrayed" the minorities by denying them tickets.
Chief Whip in the Legislative Council Saleem Ahmed, MLAs Rizwan Arshad, Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan, MLC Bilkis Bano, and other Congress leaders addressed a joint press conference on Friday, claiming an "internal conspiracy".
According to party sources, these Muslim leaders have also complained to AICC and state party leadership, alleging "internal sabotage" in Davanagere South.
Though the leaders did not name anyone, several party sources said their attack was directed at State Housing Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan and Jabbar among others.
Khan, who had openly demanded the Davanagere South ticket for a Muslim candidate, initially stayed away from campaigning in the constituency, citing his Kerala poll responsibilities.
However, he addressed a press meet with Samarth's father and Minister SS Mallikarjun at the request of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Jabbar too had not actively participated in the campaigning, despite hailing from Davanagere.
Bypolls for Davanagere South were held along with Bagalkot on Thursday. The election was necessitated following the death of sitting MLAs Shamanur Shivashankarappa and H Y Meti respectively. Samarth is the grandson of Shivashankarappa.
Muslim disgruntlement appears to be a concern for the Congress in Davanagere South. With 14 of the 25 candidates in the fray belonging to the community, there are apprehensions within the party about a split in votes, which could benefit the BJP.
Given its significant presence in the constituency, the Muslim community strongly demanded the Congress ticket for Davanagere South. Some party factions had opposed giving the ticket to the Shamanur family.
Although the Congress was successful in persuading rebel candidate Sadiq Pailwan to withdraw from the contest, he remained in the fray as the move came after the deadline for withdrawal of nominations.
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