Motihari (Bihar), April 10 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday lavished praise on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and also pledged to fulfil the sanitation dream of Mahatma Gandhi.
“Bapu ke sapne ko pura karke rahenge,” Modi told a rally of some 20,000 ‘Swachhagrahis’ (cleanliness ambassadors) to mark the Champaran Satyagraha’s centenary celebrations here.
Modi began his address in Bhojpuri language and recalled his old association with Champaran, a place made popular by Mahatma Gandhi.
Modi said the sanitation and cleanliness drive of his government was a people’s movement and it was the largest such campaign in any country.
The Prime Minister praised Nitish Kumar for working to turn Bihar open defacation free and for building a large number of toilets in a short time.
Modi also lauded government officials, including IAS officers, for doing excellent work on the sanitation front.
Earlier, Modi was received by Bihar Governor Satyapal Malik, Nitish Kumar, Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan and several BJP leaders.
According to police officials, Modi reached Patna in an Indian Air Force aircraft and reached Motihari by helicopter.
He also laid the foundation stone for four sewerage projects.
The theme of the centenary celebrations is “Satyagrah se Swachhagrah”.
Mahatma Gandhi launched the Champaran Satyagrah on April 10, 1917 against the British to fight for the rights of farmers who were forced to undertake indigo cultivation.