Modi launches \\\'My Clean India\\\' campaign

Making an appeal for a non-political movement driven by patriotism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Swachh Bharat, or Clean India, Mission on the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The Mission will aim to make India ‘clean’ by October 2, 2019, Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary, Modi said. This goal will include the elimination of open defecation, which he called a ‘blot on society’, especially for women and young girls. Modi flagged off the mission at Valmiki Basti, a housing society in central Delhi for sanitation workers, in which Mahatma Gandhi once stayed for a short while. The PM swept a small area, paid his respects at a temple, dedicated public toilets to residents and conducted a surprise sanitation inspection on the local police station, news agencies reported – the event was off-limits for private media, according to thehindu.com