Gandhi Jayanti 2018 LIVE Updates: PM Narendra Modi pays floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary at Raj Ghat (Express Photo/Tashi Tobgyal)President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu Tuesday paid floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary at Raj Ghat. They led a string of leaders in paying respects, including BJP veteran L K Advani, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres who is in India, also paid tribute to Gandhi this morning.
The government has announced a two-year celebration to mark the 150th anniversary of Gandhi.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, or Bapu as he is fondly remembered, is known as the Father of the Nation. He led the independence movement against the British. The United Nations also celebrates October 2 as the International Day of Non-Violence to honour Gandhi’s belief in peace and non-violence.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is speaking at the Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention. The Prime Minister recalled how Gandhi once said that we would prioritise hygiene in freedom and sanitation, while fighting the independence battle. He added, “Today I accept in front of you that if I did not understand Gandhi, his views, so deeply, the sanitation campaign would never have been in the priorities of our government. I found Parerani from Bapu, and the guidance of him Swachh Bharat Abhiyan also began.”
Expressing pride at the fact that Swachh Bharat has become the world’s largest mass movement, he said, “Four years ago, 60 per cent of the global population in the open defecation was in India, it has been reduced to 20 per cent today. 25 States of India have declared themselves free from defecation in open.”
“Today, when I hear, I see that Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has changed the mood of the people of India, how the disease has been reduced in the villages of India, the expenditure on treatment has been reduced, so much satisfaction,” he added.
In China, school students recite Mahatma Gandhi’s popular quotes in Chaoyang Park in central Beijing, to commemorate his 150th birth anniversary. In the background, you can see a statue of Gandhi, which was carved by sculptor and artist Yuan Xikun and installed in the park in 2005.
