BJP had a penchant of doing everything in the campaign way. After Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, it was ‘Congress Mukt Bharat’ and in the 10 years they indeed succeeded in reducing the main Opposition Congress to a miniscule presence in the Parliament and practically routed Congress from the Northeastern region as it spared no efforts in the dirty tricks department by ensnaring dissident elements from within the Congress and forming governments in the states through defections and what not.
The Congress party did win 28 seats in the 2017 Manipur assembly elections while BJP with power in New Delhi could only manage to win 21 seats. But, it somehow managed to firm the government by cobbling together a coalition and sacrificing four ministers in the 12-member ministry in favour of the NPP. In the 2022 assembly elections, BJP managed to cross the simple majority mark with 32 seats while Congress got only fivr seats. It was indeed a rout. But the Congress managed a comeback with 99 seats including the two seats from Manipur in the latest Lok Sabha elections.
There are other ‘mukt’ campaigns and the latest one is ‘Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan’ after the latest election. Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh did not exactly embark on such a Mukt campaign, but he did start a ‘War on Drugs’ campaign from his first stint as Chief Minister. Question is, is Nasha Mukta Bharat another copycat of War on Drugs like the central health insurance scheme PMAGY following in the footsteps of N Biren’s CMHT. Surely, Narendra Modi would take offence to such a question or comparison and Biren Singh would not even think of it.
Well, Chief Minister N Biren Singh had been repeatedly saying that his actions against narco-terrorism had been one of the most important issues besides illegal immigration from across the border and poppy farming by destroying vast swathes of forest land which had fuelled the present ethnic crisis. In the first edition of the anti-drug campaign, there was support from several quarters. But his campaign was marred by the infamous Lhukhosei Zou case. Somehow, Zou got himself acquitted by the court while a few of his minions were convicted for possession of a huge quantity of drugs. Only when the Supreme Court pulled up the state government for not appealing against the acquittal as demanded by some anti-drug groups, the government filed an appeal.
Despite pledges given by various tribe organisations to join the War on Drugs campaign 2.0, there was still widespread poppy plantation in the hill areas. A drone survey of the hill areas earlier had revealed the presence of widespread poppy cultivation in the guise of other vegetable plantations. A recent MARSAC study showed a decrease in poppy cultivation in the hills of Manipur after the commencement of ethnic clashes. We still do not know the specifics of the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan, but it seems to be directed mostly on drug abuse and drug smuggling in the western front or the west coast of the country where large consignment of drugs is coming in from foreign shores. Does this campaign of Nasha Mukt Bharat include the northeastern front also? We are worried.
Literature given about the campaign said, recent GoI statistics showed that 272 districts across 32 State/Union Territories have been identified as the most vulnerable in terms of usage of drugs in the country. These vulnerable districts were identified on the basis of findings from the Comprehensive National Survey and the inputs provided by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).
According to the National Comprehensive Survey conducted by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, there are more than 60 million drug users in the country of which a large number of users are in the age group of 10-17 years. These vulnerable districts were identified on the basis of findings from the Comprehensive National Survey and the inputs provided by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). According to the National Comprehensive Survey conducted by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, there are more than 60 million drug users in the country of which a large number of users are in the age group of 10-17 years.
