Gandhi Jayanti Highlights: Rural India, Villages Declared Themselves Open Defecation Free, Says PM Modi
Gandhi Jayanti LIVE UPDATES: On Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary, India was declared open defecation free by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi, who soon after coming to power for the first time in 2014 announced the Swachh Bharat Mission, cited how Mahatma Gandhi had laid immense stress on cleanliness and wanted the countrymen to pursue it.
"Today, rural India and its villages have declared themselves ODF. This the power and source of success of the ongoing 'Swachhta Abhiyan' (cleanliness drive) being run based on self-motivation and with public participation," PM Modi said in his address at the Sabarmati river front. Making the announcement, Modi said that this motivational place of Sabarmati has become the witness of this success.
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Nearly 150 prisoners will walk free on Gandhi Jayanti from various jails in Uttar Pradesh.
The prisoners who are being released on the occasion are those who have completed their term but have not been able to pay the fine amount. Some of the prisoners who are critically ill are also being released.
Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Avanish Awasthi said that the list of prisoners has already been finalized. Those booked for heinous crimes are not included in the list.
Sources said that around 600 prisoners from various states and union territories are being released on Wednesday to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
The home ministry, under the scheme for special remission to prisoners to commemorate 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, has so far released 1,424 prisoners in states and union territories in two phases - on October 2, 2018 and April 6, 2019.
(IANS)
The practice of bursting fire crackers during Gandhi Jayanti celebrations will be discontinued by the state government, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Wednesday.
Rajasthan bans pan masala on Gandhi Jayanti
The Rajasthan government on Wednesday announced a ban on the use of pan masala containing magnesium carbonate, nicotine and tobacco, and even the flavoured supaari in the state on the occasion of the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
State medical and health minister Raghu Sharma, making the announcement said that the initiative has been taken in accordance to the Food Security Act 2006.
All food security offices of the state have been directed to check the sale, distribution and production of such products, he said adding that after Maharashtra and Bihar, this is the third state where such products have been banned.
The initiative has been taken to prevent youths from getting addicted to such tobacco products.
In May, the Rajasthan government had banned e-cigarettes in the state.
(IANS)
BJP president Amit Shah kicked-off a four-month-long exercise on Wednesday in an ambitious bid by the saffron party to claim the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi with its leaders across the country undertaking foot marches and addressing public events to mark his 150th birth anniversary.
The Congress, which has seen over the years a gradual appropriation of some of its stalwarts by the BJP, launched a counter-drive with its president Sonia Gandhi taking a swipe at the Modi government, saying the Mahatma would have been pained by what has happened in India over the last few years.
(PTI)
But October 2, 2019 will forever be etched in the country's history as a red-letter day.
Nearly 600 prisoners, convicted of offences other than murder, rape and corruption, will be released from 150 jails across the country on Wednesday, the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. All these prisoners will be released under a special remission scheme.
On Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary, India is all set to be declared open defecation free by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Modi, who soon after coming to power for the first time in 2014 announced the Swachh Bharat Mission, cited how Mahatma Gandhi had laid immense stress on cleanliness and wanted the countrymen to pursue it.
Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi addressed the Congress workers today on the occassion of Gandhi Jayanti. She tageted BJP while addressing the crowd saying that Centre's work has upset Bapu. 'Power hungry people will never understand Bapu,' said Sonia Gandhi.
Some of the teenagers were also sported in Gandhi's trademark dhoti and spectacles and walked with sticks during the event.
It should be noted that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also is also likely to lead a foot march in Lucknow to commemorate Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary.
Some of the teenagers were also sported in Gandhi's trademark dhoti and spectacles and walked with sticks during the event.
It should be noted that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also is also likely to lead a foot march in Lucknow to commemorate Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary.
On the occasion of the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday joined party's 'Gandhi Sandesh Yatra' in Delhi.
The yatra began from the Delhi state Congress office Rajiv Bhavan situated in Deendayal Upadhyay Marg and headed to Rajghat. The distance between the two places is approximately three kilometres.
In a fillip to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Swachh Bharat Mission, Google Maps now lists over 57,000 public toilets in over 2,300 cities across the country, the company announced on the eve of Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversay, fulfiling a key aspiration of the Father of the Nation.
On August 15, 2014, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Swachh Bharat Mission, the aim was to bring alive Mahatma Gandhi's dream of a clean India. On his 150th birth anniversary, the authorities intend to take another step closer to that dream by declaring the country open defecation free.
The advanced version of Swachh Bharat Mission is already in pipeline, which would focus on managing sewage faecal matter, solid waste management and other basic issues that create huge environmental implications.
Though the date for the announcement for the campaign has not been fixed yet, the government officials overseeing the policy-making of the campaign claimed that the Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0 or Open Defecation Free (ODF)-plus scheme would announced 'very soon'.
The campaign has been in the pipeline and the authorities have been coordinating with UNICEF for the same for over 12 months.
7.20 am: PM Modi to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat
7.50 am: PM Modi to visit Vijayghat to pay tribute to former PM Lal Bahadur Shastri, who shares his birthday with Mahatma Gandhi
8am - 10am: PM may join a cleanup campaign in Delhi
10.30 am: Floral tributes at the Parliament House
5.50 pm: Welcome reception at Ahmedabad airport
This will be followed by a visit to Sabarmati Ashram and then for the Swachh Bharat program.
8.30 pm: GMDC Ground- Participate in the Navratri festival
Background
New Delhi: With a number of events lined up across the nation, India today celebrated the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has extended its Gandhi Sankalp Yatra by a period of three months, according to a circular issued to the party leaders. As per the circular sent to the leaders, the Yatra will now be a 120-day exercise and will end on January 31, 2020, instead of October. Earlier, it was scheduled to be held between October 2 and 31.
Under this, the BJP is planning to propagate Gandhi's ideals and principles of non-violence, Swaraj and simplicity to mark his 150th birth anniversary. Posters, banners and kits for the programs to be held during the yatra will be directly sent to the state units from the party headquarters.
According to the circular, Prime Minister Narendra Modi kicked-off this programme from Gujarat, simultaneously, with the other top leaders from the party who will started it from the BJP headquarters in New Delhi. All the party's Lok Sabha MPs have been instructed to be in their respective constituencies on October 2 for the program.
Prime Minister Modi also payed tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat. Later in the day, he also visited Sabarmati Ashram and participated in Swachh Bharat Diwas 2019 program, according to a post on the official Twitter handle of BJP.
Earlier, while talking to ANI, Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said that India has almost achieved the open defecation free (ODF) target and hoped that Prime Minister will declare India open defecation free today.
Watch | Gandhi Jayanti celebrations across the country
On Tuesday, President Ram Nath Kovind said that the people of India have paid homage to father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi, by taking up the Swachh Bharat Mission as a movement. "By taking up the 'Swachh Bharat Mission' as a movement, the people of India have paid homage to the father of the nation. Our nation's emphasis on inclusive growth, transparency and honesty in public life, health-care support to the poor and farmers and effective utilization of water resources is in keeping with his thoughts," Kovind said.
BJP president Amit Shah will launch the ruling party's 'Gandhi Sankalp Yatra' in New Delhi. On the other hand, Congress will mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi today by taking out "padyatras" across the country with senior leaders including Rahul Gandhi taking part in the march in New Delhi.
The march in the national capital will start from Delhi Pradesh Congress office and culminate at Rajghat, the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi. Later, Congress President Sonia Gandhi will administer an oath to leaders and workers "to redeem Gandhi, Gandhism and Gandhi's India". Besides this, there are several events lined up to take place across the country.
To mark the special occasion, AIM, NITI Aayog's Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL) and UNICEF India, including Generation Unlimited, have launched 'The Gandhian Challenge'. This innovation challenge provides a platform for every child across India to ideate innovative solutions for a sustainable India of their dreams, using Gandhi's principles.
The winners of 'The Gandhian Challenge' will be awarded in New Delhi by NITI Aayog's Atal Innovation Mission and UNICEF on the occasion of Children's Day in November. Several photo exhibitions have been organised in different cities to mark Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary. Vistara is celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi in a unique way with customers aboard select flights on October 2.
They will be invited to be part of the airline's initiative 'BE THE CHANGE @ 30,000 FEET' and write about a social change that they feel passionately about on a simple postcard, as per a company release.
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