A day ahead of the birth anniversary of ‘father of the nation’ Mahatma Gandhi, Union Ministers and top BJP leaders, including Home Minister Amit Shah, and BJP chief JP Naada, on Sunday participated in a massive cleanliness drive – ‘Swachhata Hi Seva’ – to mark the 9th anniversary of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’.  During the 105th ‘Mann Ki Baat’ episode, PM Modi had urged people of the country to take part in “one hour of shramdaan for swachhata” on October 1. The prime minister called it a ‘swachhanjali’ to Mahatma Gandhi on the eve of his birth anniversary.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah participates in the ‘Shramdaan for cleanliness’ program under the ‘Swachhata Hi Seva’ campaign in Ahmedabad. Shah joined municipality workers to clean the road. BJP national president JP Nadda, along with Meenakshi Lekhi also became part of the cleanliness drive in Delhi.

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also held a broom and cleaned the Delhi Vishwavidhyalaya premise in national capital Delhi during the ‘Swachhata Hi Seva’ campaign as part of ‘Swachh Bharat’ campaign. “The country is celebrating ‘Shramdaan for cleanliness’ today… I have come to Delhi Vishwavidhyalaya to participate in the cleanliness drive,” he said.

Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar went to Delhi’s Safdarjung railway station where he participated in the cleanliness drive on the eve of Gandhi Jayanti. Speaking on the occasion, Chandrashekhar said, “From the ramparts of the red fort, our Prime Minister launched this mission of transforming India into a ‘Swachha Bharat’… It is not just about elegance or beauty. It is also about changing our lifestyle and creating a deep behavioural change of responsibility among citizens.”

Union Minister Piyush Goyal accompanied Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to take part in the mega cleanliness drive in Rajasthan’s Kota.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also participated in the ‘Swachhata Hi Seva’ campaign in Sitapur. Accompanied by several party workers and UP government officials, the chief minister held a broom to clean the roads in Sitapur.