PTI
NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 2
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today wielded a broom here to launch his pet Swachh Bharat mission, a cleanliness drive across India, on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti.
After paying tributes at the memorials of Mahatma Gandhi and former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on their birth anniversaries, Modi himself swept a pavement at Valmiki Basti, a colony of sanitation workers here, before the formal launch of the ‘Clean India’ drive at Rajpath.
While launching the mission at Mandir Marg here, he also made a surprise visit at the local police station to check on cleanliness.
Accompanied by officials, the Prime Minister collected the garbage and put it in a bin. He later interacted with the children there.
“I bow to Mahatma Gandhi on his birth anniversary. Gandhi ji’s thoughts and beliefs remain a great inspiration for us. Let us dedicate ourselves to building the India of Gandhi ji’s dreams,” he said in a series of tweets.
He also recalled Shastri’s famous ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’ slogan.
He began his day by paying tributes to Gandhi at Raj Ghat and Lal Bahadur Shastri at Vijay Ghat.
About 31 lakh central government employees across the country took a pledge of cleanliness in various public functions organised today as part of Modi government’s ‘Clean India’ mission.
In addition, lakhs of state government employees have been asked to be part of this massive drive.
PM ropes in celebrities for ‘Swachh Bharat’ dare
In his bid to make ‘Swachh Bharat’ a people’s movement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today initiated a chain by inviting nine eminent personalities including cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, industrialist Anil Ambani along with several actors to spread awareness on cleanliness.
The Internet-savvy Prime Minister appeared inspired by the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, which had gone viral in recent months, as he asked the celebrities to nominate nine more people to join the campaign and hoped that the chain would continue.
Among those nominated by the PM are film actors Salman Khan, Priyanka Chopra and Kamal Hassan, industrialist Anil Ambani, Goa Governor Mridula Sinha and Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, yoga guru Ramdev and the team of TV serial “Tarak Mehta Ka Ulta Chashma”.
Modi also administered a pledge to thousands of people, including schools children and government employees at Rajpath for remaining committed to cleanliness to make the country clean. “I will remain committed towards cleanliness and devote time for this. I will neither litter nor let others litter,” pledged all those present at a function to mark the launch of “Swachh Bharat” (Clean India) mission at India Gate by the Prime Minister.
Actor Aamir Khan also joined the PM in taking the pledge along with Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari and Venkaiah Naidu.
“I have invited nine people and asked them to come to public places and work towards a Clean India. I ask them to invite nine more people too...I am sure these nine people will do the work and each will invite nine more people to form a chain and clean the country,” Modi said.The original ice bucket challenge where such a chain was created online was designed to raise funds for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis— also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease and motor neurone disease, which is a global viral phenomenon
Modi also announced starting a campaign on cleanliness through social media using his website MyGov.In and other such websites, including a new website dedicated to the clean India campaign.
