Varanasi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday nominated nine people and organisations to take forward the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan.
The prime minister inspected the progress of work at Assi Ghat, where he began the mission in his parliamentary constituency on Nov 8.
Modi announced names of Nagaland Governor Padmanabh Acharya, former police official Kiran Bedi, danseuse Sonal Mansingh, stand up comedian and TV host Kapil Sharma, former Indian Cricket team captain Saurav Ganguly, Eenadu group owner Ramoji Rao and his team, the India Today group and its head Arun Poorie, the Institute of Chartered Accountant of India (ICAI) and the Mumbai Dabbawalla’s.
Expressing his gratitude to the people of Kashi, the NGOs, government officials and the Varanasi Nagar Nigam for taking the cleaning up of ghats on the banks of the Ganga, the prime minister said he was happy to see that several steps of the Assi Ghat which were buried under the mounds of silt have been cleaned up in a mere 40 days.
He also extended his greetings to the people on Christmas and said that he would also pay homage to Banaras Hindu University founder Mahamana Madan Mohan Malviya who was named for the Bharat Ratna on Wednesday.
Modi wished former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his 90th birthday.
Modi pays floral tribute to Malaviya in Varanasi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday paid floral tributes to freedom fighter-educationist Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya on his 153th birth anniversary here.
Modi arrived at the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) here around 12.30 p.m. Dressed in a white kurta and maroon coloured jacket, he offered floral tributes at Malaviya’s statue.
Earlier, Modi tweeted: “Tributes to Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya on his birth anniversary. A man ahead of his time, he devoted himself to nationalism and education.”
Allahabad-born Malaviya was the president of the Indian National Congress for two terms and was also among the first leaders of the right-wing Hindu Mahasabha.
An eminent educationist, he founded the BHU in 1916. He served as the vice chancellor of the university 1919-1938.
He died a year before India’s independence in 1947.
