Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday unveiled a bust of Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary at an event organised in Delhi Cantonment.
"Mahatma Gandhi started the cleanliness drive in 1917 from Champaran and Prime Minister Narendra Modi converted it into a public movement in 2014," Mr Singh said after unveiling and garlanding the statue.
He said that awareness regarding cleanliness has increased among people and Mahatma Gandhi's dream is now being fulfilled on his birth anniversary.
Sharing pictures from the event, Mr Singh wrote on Twitter, "Participated in "Swachch Bharat Abhiyan" on the occasion of 150th Gandhi Jayanti in Delhi. As the world facing the challenges of climate change and other environmental issues, it is time to follow the path shown by Gandhiji to make this country and the planet a better place."
Participated in ‘Swachch Bharat Abhiyan' on the occasion of 150th #GandhiJayanti in Delhi.
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) October 2, 2019
As the world facing the challenges of climate change & other environmental issues, it is time to follow the path shown by Gandhiji to make this country and the planet a better place. pic.twitter.com/FJqlv0LcPI
One of the students gifted Mr Singh a greeting card extending good wishes on Gandhi Jayanti. Mr Singh also distributed jute and khadi bags to students.
A skit was also organised portraying Mahatma Gandhi's struggle for India's independence.
They raised slogans of "Bapu tum aage badho, hum tumhare saath hai'' (Father you take a step forward, we are with you)".
The Defence Minister later planted and watered a sapling to spread the message of green and clean India. Earlier in the morning, he administered a "cleanliness oath" to people present at the event.
The Congress and the BJP are organising a number of events throughout the country to mark Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has extended its Gandhi Sankalp Yatra by a period of three months. The Yatra will now be a 120-day exercise and will culminate on January 31, 2020. Earlier, it was scheduled to be held between October 2 and October 31.
Under this, the BJP is planning to propagate Mahatma Gandhi's ideals and principles of non-violence, independence and simplicity to mark his 150th birth anniversary.
Posters, banners and kits for the programs to be held during the yatra will be directly sent to the state units from the party headquarters.
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