Shashi Tharoor joins Clean India drive, says 'read no political meaning into it'

He may have been removed as Congress spokesperson for praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi but former union minister Shashi Tharoor is not deterred.

Thiruvananthapuram: He may have been removed as Congress spokesperson for praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi but former union minister Shashi Tharoor is not deterred.

Tharoor, who was nominated by PM Modi as part of the Swachh Bharat challenge, on Saturday joined the Clean India drive but said that no political meaning should be read into it.

The Congress leader today took up the cause of cleaning a beach in Thiruvananthapuram.

Tharoor removed garbages at a spot near Vizhinjam harbour in his parliamentary constituency.

Defending his active participation in the cleanliness drive, Tharoor said, "This is not the prerogative of any political party and the message of keeping one's surroundings clean was first given by Mahatma Gandhi."

 

"Gandhi had said sanitation was more important than independence. But for Gandhi, cleanliness of body and mind was equally important, which meant that ridding the heart of hatred and violence was also important," Tharoor said when asked whether his action would be dubbed as violation of party's warning.

When reporters asked whether he was joining the "Swachh Bharat" campaign, he said, "You can call it by any name but what is important is to keep the country clean. You see, the local people around me. They include several Congress workers ...What is important is to make the country clean, irrespective of party politics," he said.

 

"Vizhinjam Beach, a splendid site ruined by filth&garbage, which I will clean w/local residents tomorrow 25/10 at 11am," Tharoor had tweeted yesterday.

As a part of the Clean India mission, PM Modi had nominated nine eminent personalities including Sachin Tendulkar, Shashi Tharoor, Anil Ambani and Salman Khan to spread awareness about the drive.

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