In a bid to reward those working for the cleaner and greener India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today donated Rs. 21 lakhs from his personal savings to the corpus fund for the welfare of sanitation workers of Kumbh Mela. However, this is just the latest in the series of such steps taken by PM Modi for promoting the Swachh Bharat Mission on a personal level.
Recently, on receiving the Seoul Peace Prize a few days ago in South Korea, Prime Minister Modi had immediately announced the donation of the entire prize money of Rs. 1.3 crore for Namami Gange project, to help clean the holy River Ganga. While bestowing the award to the Prime Minister, the award committee recognised his contribution to the growth of Indian and global economies, crediting ‘Modinomics’ for reducing social and economic disparity between the rich and the poor. Namami Gange is the flagship programme of the Modi government to accomplish the twin objectives of effective abatement of pollution, conservation and rejuvenation of river Ganga.
Moreover, in an auction of mementos received by Narendra Modi during his tenure as PM, Rs. 3.40 crores were collected, which were donated to the cause of Namami Gange. The mementos were auctioned on January 27 and 28 at the National Gallery of Modern Art and later went on an e-auction during the period 29th to 31st of January. Reports further stated that a total of 1900 mementos, ranging from Rs 100 to Rs 30,000, were auctioned.
Prior to this, Prime Minister Modi had initiated the auctioning of gifts he received till 2015. A total of 8.33 crore rupees were raised during the auction held at Surat. Again he donated the whole sum of money to the Namami Ganga Mission.
Upon completion of his tenure as CM of Gujarat, Narendra Modi had donated Rs 21 lakhs from personal savings for the education of the daughters of Gujarat government employees. PM Modi had also raised Rs 89.96 crores by auctioning all gifts he received as Chief Minister of Gujarat and donated that to the ‘Kanya Kelavani Fund’. The money was spent on the education of girl child, through the ‘Kanya Kelavani’ scheme.
PM Modi had not demanded a single penny from any of the auctions and donated the whole for the national cause; unlike some other leaders like Mamata Banerjee. This principled action of PM Modi proves his conduct as an exemplary statesman, showing dedication towards the national cause.