Shimla, Apr 22 (PTI) All political parties must first campaign to save Himachal Pradesh before promoting themselves, Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla said on Tuesday. He also flagged off a massive anti-drug awareness rally at Barrier Chowk in the Kangra district’s Indora.

He also announced a new direction for higher educational institutions, under which students would be required to submit an affidavit during admission, pledging to abstain from drugs and violation of this pledge would lead to disciplinary action.

“All political parties must first campaign to save Himachal before promoting themselves. Only by eradicating drugs, we can preserve the rich cultural heritage of the state,” the governor said in a statement issued here.

The governor lauded the students for their powerful participation and said their voice had resonated across the state. He said that the ‘Drug-Free Himachal’ campaign was launched with the inspiration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and had since evolved into a people’s movement.

He said that parents were now coming forward to help rehabilitate their children who had fallen into the trap of drug addiction. The governor urged students to paste their anti-drug posters around their homes to further inspire their communities.

Expressing concern over the rising drug abuse in neighbouring Punjab, he said that many youths were now unable to qualify for military recruitment due to drug-related health issues.

The governor congratulated the state government for enacting a legislation in the Assembly, aimed at tackling drug abuse and emphasised that as the constitutional head of the state, he had taken up the role of a guardian stepping out of the Raj Bhavan to lead the anti-drug campaign across Himachal Pradesh. PTI BPL MNK MNK