Wielding the broom himself, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched the ‘Swachh Bharat Campaign’ or ‘Clean India’ campaign, and was joined by chief ministers, lawmakers, prominent personalities from various fields and lakhs of countrymen in a drive that is expected to cost nearly Rs 2 lakh crore.
Aiming to turn ‘Swachh Bharat’ into a national programme and freeing it from bureaucratic red tape, Modi invited people from various walks of life to be part of the campaign. He initiated a chain, on the lines of the ALS ice bucket challenge, inviting nine personalities through social media to take up the challenge to clean India.
Here are the top facts on the Narendra Modi’s ‘Swachh Bharat’ challenge:
1. Narendra Modi launches his own version of ALS ice bucket challenge, nominating nine eminent personalities to spread awareness on the cleanliness issue and asked them to continue the chain.
2. Narendra Modi invites Goa Governor Mridula Sinha, Baba Ramdev, Shashi Tharoor, Kamal Haasan, Salman Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Ambani and the entire team of Taarak Mehta Ka Oolta Chashmah to take up the challenge.
3. Modi has appealed to people to dedicate 100 hours a year towards cleanliness. The PM expects them to further extend invitations to nine more.”Social media will ring about a revolution in this cleanliness drive,” Modi said.
4. As top executives picked up brooms on Modi’s call to rid the country of litter and rubbish, Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani said he is dedicating himself to the movement. “I dedicate myself to this movement and will invite nine other leading Indians to join me in the “Clean India” campaign,” Ambani said in a statement.
5. Salman Khan accepts the PM’s challenge. He tweeted: Me & my Foundation accept the invite from our honourable Prime Minister for Swachh Bharat and will give our 100% for #MyCleanIndia
6. Priyanka Chopra accepts his invite and assured him she will participate in the cleanliness drive. “I humbly accept respected Prime Minster Narendra Modiji’s challenge. This is an idea that is long overdue Clean India Campaign,” she tweeted.
7. I humbly accept the challenge … tweets Sachin Tendulkar.
8. Goa Governor Mridula Sinha says she is happy to be chosen as a campaigner for ‘Swachh Bharat’ and has already started work by inviting voluntary organisations and officers. Congress leader Shahsi Tharoor said on Twitter: “I am not a fan of tokenism. CleanIndia is a great campaign but challenge will be2sustain it beyond a week of photo ops. Mindsets must change.”
9. Baba Ramdev said: “MyIdeaofSwachhBharat is CleanIndia on roads, sanitation for all and every citizen with swachh and spiritually pious heart.”
10. The original ice bucket challenge where such a chain was created was designed to raise funds for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ? also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease and motor neurone disease, and grew as a global viral phenomenon.
