All types of substance use in elections should be banned : Dr Tanwar

If we have to wage a decisive battle against drug addiction and eradicate it from its roots, then political resolve and willpower are needed for this, only then will the message of de-addiction prove meaningful in the society.
Senior CPI(M) leader and state president of the Kisan Sabha, Dr. Kuldeep Singh Tanwar, issued a statement in view of the upcoming Panchayat elections in the state, saying that “until the country’s major political parties, at the central and state levels, clearly decide that alcohol or any other form of intoxicant will not be used to woo and influence voters during elections, and until strict and effective laws are enacted in this regard, strategies and plans made against intoxication will not prove effective.”
He said that liquor distribution is widely used during Lok Sabha, Assembly and Panchayat elections. There is a dire need to curb this evil, but no political party is in favor of curbing it.
Dr. Tanwar said that on the Martyrdom Day of Mahatma Gandhi on January 30, all major political parties need to take a public pledge and promise to the public that no candidate supported or authorized by their party at any level including the upcoming Panchayat elections till the Lok Sabha elections will try to influence the voters through liquor or any intoxicant.
Dr. Tanwar expressed concern that the way our young generation is falling prey to untimely deaths due to deadly chemical drugs like Chitta, spurious drugs, overdose and drug-related accidents in the entire country including Himachal Pradesh, is a serious social and political warning.
He stressed the need for parallel and serious efforts at two levels to address the drug challenge: on the one hand, the government and the entire government machinery must work diligently and honestly to stop the supply of drugs, and on the other, a massive mass movement must be launched to reduce the demand for drugs, in which political parties, social organizations, and the general public must participate together.