Union home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday burned a symbolic effigy of “Chitta Ravan”, representing the drug menace, at Ludhiana’s historic Daresi ground during Dussehra celebrations.
Addressing the gathering, Shah recalled the festival’s reputation beyond Punjab, saying that when he was young, people in Gujarat would tell him that one must witness Ludhiana’s Dussehra at least once in a lifetime.
He said the experience would remain etched in his memory.
Shah was accompanied on stage by senior Punjab BJP leaders, including former Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu and Punjab BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon.
Linking the symbolic burning of the effigy to the fight against narcotics, Shah said the country had overcome major challenges posed by terrorism and Naxalism and that the next focus must be eradicating drugs. “We finished terrorism and Naxalism in the country; now it’s the turn of drugs,” he said. The symbolic “Chitta Ravan” effigy represented the drug menace, particularly the challenge posed by narcotics in Punjab.
