NaMo's MISSION PIONEERING A PRISTINE SWACHH BHARAT

TRASH FROM SOUTH BLOCK PREMISES FETCHED RS 62 CRORE! - Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister, India

Waste to wealth - Addressing the issue of waste management while simultaneously generating profits is an enticing proposition. PM Narendra Modi has long embraced this concept in his governance model since his days as Gujarat Chief Minister, incorporating it into his Swachhta Abhiyan.

“In 2020, during Gandhi Jayanti, PM Modi initiated a Swachhta drive and directed us to inspect the backside of his office in South Block, where he was aware of a significant pile up of junk,” reveals Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister.

“Following his guidance, we conducted an inspection of the basement. The corridor was obstructed by heaps of junk and waste,” says Singh. “Even before we began the cleaning process, PM Modi informed us that we would come across two-legged tables, threelegged chairs, damaged phones, and computer monitors, among other items, all dumped there for years!”

“Consequently, we commenced the cleaning process. To our surprise, when we sold off that discarded material in the market, the government reaped almost Rs 62 crore! He later asked various departments to conduct the same exercise, through which government earned crores of rupees.”

WHEN PM NARENDRA MODI TOOK THE BROOM AT KEDARNATH TEMPLE - Shyam Jaju, BJP National Leader

On one occasion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the annual gate opening ceremony in Kedarnath. The temple complex was closed for the winter break.

After the customary rituals, the temple doors swung open. Prime Minister Modi, eager to enter, was promptly halted by the temple trustee. The trustee requested him to wait for a few minutes, explaining that the temple had been closed for months, and there might be dirt and dust all over.

To everyone’s surprise, PM Narendra Modi responded with, ‘I am here to do the cleaning as well.’ He picked up a broom and began cleaning the temple premises. Once the temple was clean, PM Modi proceeded with other rituals.

Former colleagues of Modi from the 1980s and 90s in Gujarat fondly recall that whenever he encountered a BJP office or an RSS Karyalay in a state of disarray, he wasted no time in grabbing a broom and tidying up the space himself. He consistently encouraged colleagues to maintain clean and organised working environments.

SINCE CHILDHOOD, MODI HAD STRONG INCLINATION FOR CLEANLINESS DRIVE - Gordhan Patel, Teacher of PM Narendra Modi, Gujarat

Modi’s teacher, Gordhan Patel, remembers that from a very young age, Narendra Modi exhibited an extraordinary inclination to cleanliness and fastidiousness. Despite coming from a humble background, he always preferred to wear neat clothes and maintain tidiness.

“In those early days, young Narendra Modi had to traverse the dusty streets of his village on foot to reach school, often leaving his shoes covered in dirt. However, this never deterred him. He always carried a cloth in his pocket and would pause at the school gate to clean his shoes. It showed his penchant to tidiness,” Patel recalls.

Modi once received a pair of white canvas shoes as a gift from his uncle. Even when they got dirty with dust and mud, he would clean them and apply powder made from chalk pieces he had gathered from classrooms.

Former colleagues recall that even during his time as an RSS pracharak, Modi might have had only a simple living, but he made sure that whatever he wore was kept neat and clean. Colleagues also remember that his room at the Sangh office was consistently the most neatly organized space.

COMPILED AND EDITED BY SHASHIKANT SHARMA