Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday highlighted the transformative change in people’s perception of cleanliness that has been brought about by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s focus on Swachhata.

Inaugurating the ‘Swachhata Hi Seva – 2024′ campaign at Paramveer Peeru Singh Government Senior Secondary School in Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan, he said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proclamation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on 15 August 2014 has proven to be the world’s most revolutionary step in a decade and is a symbol of continuous change in the country. During the last decade, due to this campaign and because of the Prime Minister’s initiative, there has been a revolutionary and widespread change in people’s mentality towards cleanliness.”

Emphasising on the importance of public participation in cleanliness, the Vice-President noted that the absence of toilets in the country had been a curse that has been eliminated through this campaign. He said, “Women’s dignity was being compromised, and this mission executed on a large scale is now reflecting in multi-faceted development.”

Highlighting the various aspects of the Swachhata campaign, Dhankhar called for a resolution to link cleanliness with character, values and culture. Expressing his thoughts on the newly launched campaign, the Vice President further said, “After a decade, a new beginning is taking place, this campaign should not be limited to cleanliness. It should bring about a change in our thoughts, change in habits, positively affect lifestyle, and make a tremendous contribution to economic progress.”

He hailed the ‘Mera Yuva Bharat’ programme, and appealed to Vice-Chancellors, Principals and Headmasters of all colleges to connect youth with this programme. He said, “One and a half crore youth have come forward to join the vision of developed India. This will change their mentality, improve their commitment to nationalism, and strengthen our democracy. It will flourish and prosper.”

Drawing attention to the achievements of the Abhiyan, the Vice President, in his address, said there was a time when the mission of having a toilet in every home in a country of 130 crore was beyond imagination, but today this change has been brought about by the PM’s initiative.

Underlining the radical changes in waste management in India, Dhankhar further said, “India has now become an example to the world. Today, fuel and energy are being produced from waste.”

Stressing on the important role of sanitation workers in cleanliness, he remarked, “We must salute them, we must hold them in high respect. They are engaged in an extremely solemn activity which is not only significant for society but also for the planet.”

He further expressed that, “Cleanliness is a service. It is an excellent commitment to humanity. We should embrace it with an open mind. When the whole society works unitedly in this direction, I am hopeful that we will be able to build a clean and strong India, and our journey will be successful.”