The nation marks the 148th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi today. India celebrates this day as Swachhta Divas. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice President Venkaiah Naidu paid respects to the Father of the Nation at Rajghat. Vice President Venkaiah Naidu also unveiled a statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat. The day also marks the completion of three years since the launch of PM Modi’s flagship Swachh Bharat Abhiyan or the Clean India Mission. The Prime Minister addressed a gathering at Vigyan Bhavan in the national capital today. October 2 also marks the birth anniversary of late Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. The Prime Minister paid tributes to the leader on Twitter.
As it happened:
12:20 PM: PM Modi concludes address
12:15 PM: I congratulate all those who supported and took part in the Swachhata Hi Seva movement. I keep saying - this is the start. We should continue the momentum built by the movement: PM
12:10 PM: The Swachh Bharat Mission is about both 'Vyavastha' (systems) and 'Vichar' (thought process and mindset): PM
12:10 PM: A positive spirit of competition has been created due to Swachh Bharat Mission. We see this in the cleanliness rankings, how organisations are working on cleanliness: PM Modi
12:05 PM: Everyone wants cleanliness in the country. But the biggest question was who will do this? PM Modi says in address
12:02 PM: The dream of a Swachh Bharat will be realised by 125 crore Indians, not a select group of leaders or officials: PM Modi
12:00 noon: India has accepted the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan. The movement has become a people's movement due to the 'Siddhi' of Swachhagrahis (swachhta seekers)
11:58 AM: Need to inculcate cleanliness as a responsibility in society. Children are the biggest harbingers of this change, says PM Modi.
11:55 AM: We need to bring change despite certain societal mindsets. These are mistakes that are not of the government or an authority
11:52 AM: The future will not have news reports of people indulging in cleanliness, but of those who keep away: PM Modi
11:50 AM: There are some who are still skeptical about the cleanliness mission, they make fun of it. But this should not deter us from our goal: PM Modi
11:45 AM: India faces challenges but that does not mean we run away from them. We will face them and work to overcome them: PM Modi in Delhi
11:40 AM: Swachh India won't come true even if 1,000 Mahatma Gandhis, 1 lakh Narendra Modis, all CMs & governments come together, it'll be done by 125 crore Indians: PM
11:40 AM: PM Modi begins address
11:10 AM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at Vigyan Bhawan to attend an event to mark the completion of three years of Swachh Bharat Mission
11:00 AM: Union minister Ananth Kumar and Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar launched 'Swachh Bengaluru- a Cleanathon'.
10:40 AM: The ideas Gandhi Ji sought to imbibe through his thoughts appear more relevant today than during his time: BJP president Amit Shah
10:05 AM: Vice President Venkaiah Naidu unveils statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat in Delhi:
09:00 AM: Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath and Governor Ram Naik paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi in Lucknow:
08:48 AM: PM Modi pays tributes to late Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri at Vijay Ghat. The nation marks this day as the 114th birth anniversary
08:30 AM: Prime Minister Modi, President Kovind and VP Naidu attend a prayer ceremony at Rajghat
08:15 AM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other dignitaries are attending a prayer ceremony at Rajghat. PM Modi will unveil a statue of Mahatma Gandhi shortly.
08:03 AM: Vice President Venkaiah Naidu and President Ramnath Kovind also reached Rajghat and paid tributes to the Father of The Nation
08:01 AM: Former PM Manmohan Singh also reached Rajghat and paid floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi on Gandhi Jayanti
08:00 AM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi on his 148th birth anniversary at his samadhi Rajghat in the national capital.
The PM had paid tributes to both Gandhi and Shastri on his Twitter handle.
