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  • Category: Latest Kerala News

    Tharoor's cleanliness drive wins praise from Modi

    New Delhi/Thiruvananthapuram: Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor Saturday launched a cleanliness drive on Kovalam beach, personally collecting garbage in bags. Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised his efforts and also retweeted the pictures.

    Tharoor, who was sacked as spokesperson of the Congress party for tagging along with Modi's Swachh Bharat campaign, said that Mahatma Gandhi's sanitation drive was a national cause and not aligned to any party.

    Prime Minister Modi retweeted the photos of Tharoor on his twitter handle @narendramodi and also praised him, writing: 'A great effort by @ShashiTharoor! His active participation in Swachh Bharat Mission is very encouraging.'

    Earlier, Tharoor, Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, while launching the cleanliness drive on the beach tweeted: 'Before my actions today are distorted: a clean India requires no label. Why cede Gandhiji's sanitation drive to any party? A national cause.'

    Tharoor and a few other Congress workers and representatives of local bodies held brooms and took to the job of cleaning streets.

    'I am a Congressman and my ideology is there should be clean surroundings. I first arrived in this city when I was 10 years and at that time even after heavy rains, the city used to be clean due to the excellent drainage facility. But today, urban planning has failed and the place here has become like a sewage dump,' said Tharoor.

    Tharoor said it was Mahatma Gandhi who said sanitation is more important than independence.

    'Cleanliness is a national programme... not the programme of any particular party,' he added.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi had nominated Tharoor to spread the message of a clean India.
  • #7681
    The phrase 'Cleanliness is godliness" need not be overemphasized. But unfortunately this issue too has become a political issue rather than a serious program. As Tharoor stated the importance of cleanliness was emphasized by Gandhiji and Nehru and later continued by others. In 2012, Jairam Ramesh, then minister of UPA, said "that toilets are far important than temples." At that time the BJP leaders were ridiculing Ramesh. For this "He faced severe criticism from right-wing groups, VHP and Bajrang Dal. Bottles filled with urine were placed outside his residence." Spokesperson Rajeev Pratap Rudy said then that such comments would 'destroy the fine fabric of religion and faith'." But just a year later when Modi said the same thing "toilets first, temples later" no one bothered to offer urine or stool to Modi at his residence. The present issue of Modi and Tharoor tweeting are like patting each other's back. In a lighter vein are these mutual patting has to do some mutual benefits? Tharoor teaching a thing or two of how to acquire 'Rs 50 crore or more worth girl friend's for a possible protection in Susana's allegedly suspicious death.

    Anyway let us hope that this is also one of the issues to divert the attentions of people from the real problems faced without redressal from the new dispensation.

    With Regards
    Ramanathan A R

  • #7686
    You are right, i don't know what is the political game going on between tharoor and modi, but i know something about this cleaning drama. My friends are their when tharoor reach the place. They told me their is no wastage dump and dead rat on their. Tharoor reach the place waste and dead rat are present. This is am telling it is clear political drama.


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