Fight drug menace together through open communication with youth: PM Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged family elders and teachers to create a culture of open communication with children to prevent them from getting caught in the trap of drug addiction.

Launching the 'Nasha Mukt Yuva for Viksit Bharat Sankalp Abhiyan', he said families should neither shut doors on such victims nor hide such cases on the pretext of prestige, but instead provide all medical support they need.

"I urge every citizen, especially our youth, to join this movement... Today, as the nation has set the goal of a Viksit Bharat, it is imperative that the country's youth remain physically and mentally fit, brimming with self-confidence, and permanently steer clear of destructive habits like drugs. We must protect every youth from falling into the trap of addiction," the PM said in his inaugural address at a nationwide video conference to launch the campaign.


He emphasised that society, academia and family members have a crucial role to play in tackling the menace. "The support of society, the power of yoga and meditation, give strength to our inner selves against addiction, and today we also have facilities like rehabilitation centres to quit addiction," Modi said.

The PM's message on the growing problem of drug abuse came two days after his Instagram message urging people to "guide the misguided youth" who had used abusive language against him and his late mother during the NEET paper leak protests. The anti-drug campaign has also been launched months ahead of elections in Punjab, a border state where the drug menace has reportedly spread widely among the youth.