Satyagraha to Swachhagraha in Champaran: 'Bihar made Gandhi ji a Mahatma, showed country the path', says Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday hailed the Bihar government’s efforts towards making the state open defecation-free and vowed to fulfill the sanitation dream of Mahatma Gandhi.

“Bapu ke sapne ko pura karke rahenge (we will fulfil the promise of Gandhi),” Modi told a rally of some 20,000 ‘Swachhagrahis’ (cleanliness ambassadors) to mark the Champaran Satyagraha’s centenary celebrations launched by the Bihar government in April, 2017. Gandhi set off on his Champaran Satyagraha in 1917 in protest against atrocities on Indigo planters.

Modi began his address in Bhojpuri  and recalled his old association with Champaran, a place made popular by Gandhi.

“Those who say that history does not repeat itself, can come to Motihari and see how history made 100 years ago, is standing in front of us again today. Such a picture of the mass movement on this sacred land of Champaran was seen a hundred years ago”. Modi compared the time when people from across the country came to Champaran under Gandhi ji’s leadership to Tuesday’s rally.

“Following the same spirit, people who came from different parts of the country, enthusiastic youth are worked shoulder-to -shoulder with the Swachhagrahis.

Praising the enthusiasm of the assembled ‘Clean India’ volunteers, Modi said, “Bihar has shown the path to the country during the last three hundred years of India’s three major criterion. When the country was chained in slavery, Bihar made Gandhi ji a ‘Mahatma’, made him ‘Bapu’. After independence, when millions of farmers faced landlessness crisis, Vinoba ji started the Bhoodan movement. For the third time, when there was a crisis on the country’s democracy, Jayprakash ji stood up and saved democracy”.

Modi said more than 8,50,000 toilets have been constructed in Bihar in the past week and praised Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for working to make Bihar open defecation-free. “I am proud that the people of Bihar have shown their leadership from Satyagraha to Swachtagraha.”

He spoke about a time when Bihar was the only state where the scope of sanitation was less than 50 percent. “But I was told that Bihar broke out of this bracket after a week of Swachtagraha campaign”, he added.

Stressing that the central government is walking shoulder-to-shoulder with the Nitish Kumar government, Modi said, “One of the initiatives which was launched on Tuesday was Motihari Lake’s renovation project. The work of reviving the lake, which is known as part of Champaran’s history, was started today”.

Speaking on the water projects, Modi said he has laid the foundation stone of water supply scheme, under the AMRUT scheme, which costs  around Rs 100 crore. More than 1.5 lakh people will benefit from this, he said.

Modi said 11 projects of more than Rs 3,000 crore have been approved in Bihar in a bid to stop the dirty water from homes or factories from entering River Ganga. He added that there is also a plan to lay a sewage line of 1,100 kilometres from this amount.

Efforts are being taken to stops villages in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal from polluting River Ganga, he added. “Villages along the banks of Ganga are being made free of open defecation on a priority basis. Plans are being implemented for the management of waste in the villages of Ganga, so that the waste of the village can not be drained in the river. Soon, the area around Ganga will be completely free of open defecation”.

Modi also spoke on the success Ujjwala scheme and said that he laid the foundation stone for the installation of LPG plant in Motihari and Sugauli on Tuesday.

The prime minister said he laid the foundation stone for two rail projects for Champaran and flagged off the first run of the Champaran Humsafar Express between Katihar and Old Delhi. Modi also launched the first 1200 horsepower freight electric locomotive assembled at the Madhepura factory on Tuesday. He claimed that the project was approved in 2007 but did not begin till the NDA government came to power.

“Ab atkane, latkane wala kaam nahi hoga (now the work won’t be stalled or interrupted). The government is doing everything with the help of the citizens,” he said, referencing the UPA government.

Modi further addressed the “real challenge” that awaits every Swachhtagrahi. “Till the time cleanliness does not become a part of every person’s life, our mission won’t be complete. Gandhi ji bought everybody on the same page, which is how Satyagraha became successful. As Swachhtagrahis, our role should be the same. Efforts should be taken so that the messages of cleanliness reaches every person, and every section of society”, he said.

Modi arrived in Bihar on Tuesday morning to address the volunteers in Motihari and launch key development projects. He was received by Governor Satyapal Malik and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan and several senior BJP leaders in Patna.