Yogi Adityanath urges people to follow examples set by Mahatma Gandhi

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary and urged people to follow the lead shown by him to become better citizens.

"My greetings to everyone on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary. I hope that we will all get inspired by the examples set by the father of the nation to contribute in a better manner to the society and the nation," Adityanath said at the event held to launch the cleanliness drive here.

The chief minister said: "Gandhi Jayanti is being celebrated in 120 countries. The world is remembering how a Mahatma clad in dhoti with a lathi in his hand was able to drive away the British from India."

Stressing upon the need for people to realize the gravity of the situation with plastic use he said, "People do not realize that the plastic they throw away not only makes our surrounding dirty and harms the environment but also affects our health when it is used to carry food items. It is also a big threat to the livestock, cows often ingest plastic with the food which is offered to them."

"These reasons led to Prime Minister Narendra Modiji launching a campaign against plastic use on the occasion of Independence Day this year. I appeal to all people to make the campaign against plastic use a daily activity for them. It should be removed from the social and commercial usage in full," Yogi added.

At the event, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister also lauded the Swacch Bharat Mission which was launched five years ago and added that all the activities undertaken during the mission were appreciated worldwide.

"Narendra Modiji had launched the nationwide Swacch Bharat Mission on October 2, 2014, and it has become a mass movement in the past five years. More than 10 crore toilets have been constructed in the country in the past 5 years, with 2.6 crore of them being constructed for the poor in Uttar Pradesh alone. It is being appreciated worldwide," he said.

( With inputs from ANI )