Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah on Tuesday participated in the Vijayadashami festival in Ludhiana, Punjab, and performed the burning of the symbolic Ravana of 'Chitta' (Drugs).
In his address, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that in our tradition, the burning of Ravana's effigy is a symbol of the victory of good over evil. "Vijayadashami is the day for every person to eliminate the ego, pride, greed, and other evils within themselves."
On this very day, thousands of years ago, Lord Shri Ram achieved victory over Ravana, and since then the entire world has been celebrating Lord Shri Ram's victory as the triumph of good over evil.
He said that he has heard since childhood that if you want to see Ravana Dahan, go to Ludhiana, where the Ramlila Committee has been organising the Ravana Dahan programme for 200 years.
Amit Shah said that today he met families at three places in Punjab who had lost their sons in the fight against drugs.
He said that the tears in the eyes of those relatives, their questions, and their pain are enough to shake anyone to the core. Shah said that the Punjab government has handed over the investigation of one murder to the CBI.
He urged the Punjab government to hand over the investigation of the remaining two murders to the CBI as well. The Home Minister expressed confidence that justice will be done in these cases.
"Once the investigation is handed over to the CBI, no matter how big a person is involved in these murders, the Modi government will track them down and put them behind bars," he said.
Union Home Minister said that on this Vijayadashami itself, "we take this resolve that by 31 December 2029 we will free the entire Punjab from the drug trade and make it a drug-free Punjab."
He said that there can be no greater tribute than this to these three brave individuals who lost their lives.
Shah said that if the people of Punjab provide information about the drug trade on the Narcotics Control Bureau's toll-free helpline, the Modi government will take action on it.
Amit Shah said that the Modi government has a record of fulfilling what it has promised. "Article 370 and 35A are gone, terrorism is on the verge of being eliminated, and we have ended Naxalism." He said that now "we will also eliminate the drug trade".
Meanwhile, Shah met the family of Dalit daily-wage worker Gulzar Singh, who died by suicide, in Toor Banjara village in Sangrur. He assured them of action against those responsible for his death.
Following Union Home Minister Amit Shah's meeting with the family of the late Gulzar Singh, his son Lakhminder Singh says, "He came to listen to the grief of our family, and he made us realise that the culprits will be sent behind bars. Our meeting lasted for 15 to 20 minutes, and he assured us that strict action will be taken against Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema as well. Strict action will also be taken against the police administration that committed atrocities against you."
Another son of Gulzar Singh, Shehbaz, said, "We demanded that action be taken against those who killed my father. He promised that the culprits would be fully punished. I also demanded that the drug menace be curbed, and he gave an assurance that drugs would be eradicated from Punjab."
He claimed the Punjab government included five names in the FIR, but the Punjab Police did not include Harpal Cheema's name, "even though my father had explicitly named him in a video as one of his killers."
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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