'Namo Yuva Run' at 75 locations to mark PM Modi's 75th birthday; one million youth to join anti-drug campaign

New Delhi, Sep 7 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) on Sunday announced a nationwide fitness and social awareness initiative — the 'Namo Yuva Run’ — to celebrate Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 75th birthday on September 17.

The mega event will be held across 75 locations in India on September 21, with more than one million young participants expected to run simultaneously.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters, BJYM President and MP Tejasvi Surya said the run is being organised under the theme “Nasha Mukt Bharat” (Drug-Free India).

“Over the last decade, under the leadership of PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, India has waged a successful campaign against drugs. This run is not just about fitness, but also about strengthening our youth against the menace of addiction, which weakens individuals and threatens national security,” he said.

Surya highlighted that each location will see 10,000 to 15,000 participants, making it the largest participative run in the country.

Actor and fitness icon Milind Soman. who has been named the brand ambassador of the event, will also join the campaign.

“Since my high school days, I have admired Milind Soman. He remains the fittest Indian today and a role model for young India. But above all, Prime Minister Modi himself is the biggest inspiration for the youth,” Surya remarked.

The BJYM leader linked the drug problem to wider security challenges, including narco-terrorism, cross-border smuggling, and Naxal financing.

He pointed out that in the past 10 years, India has significantly ramped up enforcement, seizing over 24 lakh kg of narcotics between 2014 and 2024, compared to just 3.6 lakh kg in the previous decade.

“In the last one year alone, 10 lakh kg of drugs have been seized and destroyed,” he said.

The ‘Namo Yuva Run’ will be flagged off on September 21, bringing together lakhs of young Indians in a synchronised nationwide call for fitness, discipline, and a drug-free future.

--IANS

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