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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the Swachh Bharat Mission has become the largest and most successful people's movement in the century with mass participation and public leadership. Addressing a gathering on completion of 10 years of the Mission here, he said the Swachh Bharat campaign is not just a cleanliness movement but a new path to prosperity. "Through continuous efforts we can make India clean," he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said a country which does not cherish its heritage has a bleak future. Modi launched the Rs 1,200 crore Gandhi Ashram Memorial masterplan at Sabarmati in Gujarat's Ahmedabad city and inaugurated the redeveloped Kochrab ashram at a function on the anniversary of the famous Dandi Yatra, or salt march, taken out by Mahatma Gandhi on March 12, 1930. "A country which does not cherish its heritage lose its future also. The Sabarmati Ashram is not only a heritage for the country but for the entire mankind," he said. "The Sabarmati Ashram has become a pilgrimage not only our freedom movement but also for 'Viksit Bharat' (developed India)," Modi said. He said the government formed after independence had no mentality or political will to maintain heritage sites like the Sabarmati Ashram. "There were two reasons - one looking at India from the foreign lens and another was appeasement politics which resulted in the ruin of our heritage," Modi said. The
The Indian Railways on Friday said more than 2.14 lakh people participated in 1,934 activities with man hours of 6,62,990 in the first 14 days of the "Swachhata Hi Sewa" (SHS) cleanliness drive. The fortnight-long campaign was launched on September 15 by the chairperson and CEO of the Railway Board, who administered a cleanliness pledge to all the railway employees at the Rail Bhawan here. The participants in the campaign are railway employees, passengers and other stakeholders. The campaign aims at fostering a much greener and more eco-friendly railway system. "Indian Railways, with its extensive nationwide network, plays a vital role in the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan," the railway ministry said in a statement. This year, the railway ministry has become a part of the joint SHS campaign launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and Ministry of Jal Shakti. "Activities of SHS are integrated with day-to-day activities of Swachhata Pakhwada. The theme for Swachhata Hi Sewa camp
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday said that the opposition coalition INDIA will be holding country-wide programmes on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti on October 2. Without revealing details of the proposed programmes, the leader of the JD(U), a constituent of INDIA, said that a decision in this regard was taken at the just concluded conclave of the opposition alliance in Mumbai. Kumar claimed that the BJP-led NDA was rattled by the unity of the opposition and, therefore, the central government has convened later this month a special session of Parliament, the agenda for which has not been revealed. We have taken a resolution that the INDIA alliance will celebrate Gandhi Jayanti across the country. The INDIA alliance has rattled the ruling BJP which has forced the Central government to explore the possibility of holding assembly and national elections simultaneously. The move betrays panic in the BJP after they saw the unity of opposition parties under the INDIA coalition
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said that the people of the state will join hands to plant 100 lakh saplings on Gandhi Jayanti this year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced 'Mission Life' to bring about a 'Jan Andolan' (People's movement) which will be at the forefront of the global climate action narrative, the chief minister said while participating in a tree plantation programme 'Amri Plantation' at Chandubi in Kamrup Rural district. The plantation of 100 lakh saplings on October 2 will help mitigate climate change, and expand our tree economy as the state government will offer Rs 300 per sapling and lead to a 38 per cent increase in forest cover by the year 2028, Sarma said. The temperatures have been rising and 'I sympathise with everyone experiencing the scorching heat in the state but we have to take steps to bring back temperatures to optimal level', the chief minister said. 'We will have to take steps to increase the forest cover, phase away ..
Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena has accused Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his ministers of showing "utter disregard" towards the commemoration of Mahatma Gandhi and former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on their birth anniversaries on October 2. In a letter, the LG said neither Kejriwal nor his ministers were present at Raj Ghat and Vijay Ghat, memorials to Gandhi and Shastri, even as President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and representatives of foreign missions in India among others were there to pay homage. The LG noted that Kejriwal's deputy Manish Sisodia was "perfunctorily present" there for a few minutes, but "did not deem the occasion fit enough to stay the course". The LG also said that such derelictions should be avoided in future.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday called Rahul Gandhi and his family as 'fake Gandhis' and preferred not to discuss about them on Gandhi Jayanti. Bommai was speaking to reporters after paying tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 153rd birth anniversary. "Why are you talking about Nakli (fake) Gandhis on Gandhi Jayanti. There is no need to talk about Nakli Gandhis on Gandhi Jayanti," the Chief Minister said. He was replying to a query on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's charge that there was rampant corruption in Karnataka under the BJP rule. "The entire party (Congress) is on bail. He (Rahul) himself is on bail, the previous Congress president, honourable Sonia Gandhi is on bail. Our president (state Congress president D K Shivakumar) is also on bail. The entire party is bail party. Everyone (in Congress) is facing corruption charges," Bommai alleged. He charged that Shivakumar, who is also participating in the Bharat Jodo Yatra, is facing lots of corruption charges fo
Political strategist Prashant Kishor began a 3,500-kilometre long padayatra' from the Gandhi Ashram in Bihar's West Champaran district on Sunday, the birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation, as part of his Jan Suraj' campaign. The march is widely seen as a precursor to his entry into politics. Kishor and his supporters will attempt to reach every panchayat and block of Bihar during the yatra which is likely to take anywhere between 12 and 15 months to complete. He started the march from Bhitiharwa Gandhi Ashram, from where Mahatma Gandhi launched his first Satyagraha movement in 1917. As the political strategist and his followers embarked on the padayatra, he was greeted by people on the road. Ahead of the yatra, Kishor tweeted in Hindi that he is determined to change the system in the poorest and most backward state of Bihar. According to him, the first step to achieving a better system in society is a padayatra across the "villages, towns and cities of Bihar". A recent .
President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday greeted citizens on the eve of Gandhi Jayanti and said it is an occasion for all to rededicate themselves to the values of peace, equality and communal harmony. "On the occasion of the 153rd birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, I pay homage to the Father of the Nation on behalf of all fellow citizens," she said in a message to the nation. Gandhi Jayanti is an occasion for all of us to rededicate ourselves to the values of his inspiring life - peace, equality and communal harmony, the president said. Observing it this year assumes a special significance as the nation has been celebrating the Amrit Mahotsav, marking 75 years of Independence, Murmu said. This is the time, for all of us, to work towards the realisation of India of Gandhiji's dreams, she said. A century ago, Gandhiji inspired millions with his call of 'Swadeshi' and his stress on self-reliance, Murmu said. "The making of an Atmanirbhar Bharat, which is under way, is thus inspired b