Clean India campaign: I will myself use the broom on Gandhi Jayanthi, says PM Narendra Modi

Ahead of the launch of "Clean India" campaign on October 2, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said he will himself go out using the broom and asked people to give their two hours every week to him in "alms" to make the drive a success.

"I myself am going out to use the broom. People often wonder why I keep harping on these small things. It is because I am a small man. These small people with their small works can take the country to supreme heights. 

"I am seeking alms from countrymen. In alms, I seek your 100 hours in a year. We will together launch cleanliness drive. You give your two hours in a week... As you clean up your house for a guest, prosperity will enter our country if we remove all dirt," he said.

Addressing BJP workers in his first visit to the state after becoming Prime Minister, he declared 'Jan Dhan Yojna', the financial inclusion scheme, a success. He said despite these accounts offering facility of zero-balance, poor people have deposited over Rs 1500 crore in the four crore new accounts.

Recalling that banks were nationalised by late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi for the sake of poor, Modi asked whether the objective has been achieved. He himself answered the question, saying poor people were still going to money-lenders paying only exorbitant interests and were not in a position to repay the loans. 

Referring to his decision to form a committee to recommend repealing or amendment of outdated laws, Modi said previous governments took pride in making new laws but he has taken up the job of removing them. "If the country has to function, if the government has to walk along a straight road, then we will have to clear the jungle of laws," he said.

"We have five to 10 laws on one single issue, laws which are over hundred years, over one hundred fifty years, over fifty years, and one interprets it the way he wants and stops work," Modi said.

Noting that his party has been in government for a very short time, he said, "We move into a new house and the first thing we do is cleaning. First the public did the cleaning; now we are doing it," he said.