PM: Gandhi’s philosophy guides Swachh mission

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that thoughts and philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi were the guiding forces for launching the Swachh Bharat Mission and people have taken the lead to make it a huge success.

“I accept before you all and before the world, if I and many of us had not understood Gandhi’s philosophy and studied them, perhaps for any government this programme would not have become a priority,” Modi said while launching the 150th birth anniversary celebration of the Mahatma.

He said it was Gandhi’s teachings which influenced him to talk about making India open defecation free (ODF) from the ramparts of the Red Fort on August 15 in 2014.

Terming the mission the world’s largest and most successful people’s movement with toilet coverage in rural areas going up from 38% in 2014 to over 94% four years later, Modi said when the mission was launched there was scepticism whether there would be enough funds for the programme. “The government made the mission a priority. Once minds are ready to change, people bring changes and they don’t wait for the government,” Modi said.

Endorsement of the effort put in to make the Mission a success came from none other than United Nations secretary general Antonio Guterres who lauded the “remarkable leadership” of India.

“It’s not the largest investment, but the largest campaign of people’s mobilisation in this area around the world...eliminating open defecation should be the central to sanitation. I commend India for making it a programme at the highest political level,” he said.

Guterres said there was a need to break taboos and speak out on this “most sensitive issue” as lives are at risk. He added India was urgently attending to the need to end open defecation and other nations should follow its lead.

He also said India will be meeting the targets of Sustainable Development Goals much before 2030 while adding political will and commitment can see the target being achieved early.