New Delhi: The BJP launched the much-praised Swachh Bharat Abhiyan or Clean India mission on October 2, but the party was left embarrassed when a leading daily carried pictures allegedly showing garbage being dumped on a sidewalk in Delhi just hours before BJP leader Satish Upadhyay took broom to clean it up.
As a part of the highly publicised cleanliness drive Upadhyay, accompanied by Shazia Ilmi, who left the Aam Aadmi Party, went to India Islamic Cultural Centre in the national capital to raise awareness about clean India mission.
However, the pictures published show the NDMC staffers littering the already clean pavement before the BJP leader's visit.
After the pictures surfaced the Congress said that the cleanliness drive has become a photo opportunity for several ministers. However, Upadhyay clarified that he didn't know anything about the garbage being littered before his visit, and said that he had gone there only as a participant.
"It was a program of the Islamic Centre, I had just gone their for few minutes, organisers should have taken care of it," he said, reported by ANI. "Cleanliness drive is to be taken seriously & everyone should do it honestly," Upadhyay added.
Meanwhile, Ilmi, who was also present at the event for the cleanliness drive, gave clarification on her part saying that she was only a guest at the centre of the event.
India Islamic centre invited me amongst many others for the safai drive yesterday. I was a guest at the centre for the event
— shazia ilmi (@shaziailmi) November 6, 2014
Launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan gained a lot of publicity with politicians, prominent celebrities and sportspersons taking part in the cleanliness drive.
