Singer Kailash Kher wields broom, gets PM's praise

Varanasi: Bollywood singer Kailash Kher, who was nominated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to carry forward the Swachh Bharat campaign, wielded the broom at the Bhadaini ghat on the banks of river Ganga, drawing praise from Modi.

"Bravo @kailashkher! I congratulate you for joining Swachh Bharat Mission in Varanasi. Admirable effort," the Prime Minister said in a tweet. Kher while wielding the broom sang songs to exhort people to join the PM's Clean India campaign.

He told reporters that he felt extremely privileged that the Prime Minister had nominated him for his noble mission of Swachh Bharat. Taking forward the Clean India mission in Modi's parliamentary constituency Varanasi, Kher on Monday visited the Bhadaini ghat, Assi ghat, Ganga Mahal ghat and the Tulsi ghat among other places in the city.

Kher also nominated nine persons to carry forward the campiagn. Those named by him are retired Justice Giridhar Malaviya (grandson of BHU founder Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya), Ashok Dhyanchand (former hockey player), Rekha Bhardwaj and Vishal Bhardwaj, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Neelesh Misra and Roshan Abbas (all from Bollywood) and Chandramauli Upadhyaya (a professor in BHU's astrology department).

To make the Clean India Campaign a success, Kher said, he will sing songs to create awareness among people about keeping their surroundings clean and will encourage them to avoid using plastic bags. Kher sang songs at the Ganga Mahal ghat on the banks of the Ganga river here. "Swachha bharat ka irada kar liya hamne, swachhata ki jyoti lekar ham ghar ghar jayenge, swachha roshani mein sabhi ab to nahayenge," he sand.

He said that if people would just contribute one rupee everyday for the cleanliness of their bylanes and the colonies, it would still make a big difference. Kher especially appealed to the betel lovers of the city not to spit on roads or other places.

Kher last night thanked BHU students and teachers and the people of the city over Twitter for supporting him in the Swachha Bharat Mission. "Started My #SwachhBharat Sewa frm Assi Ghat Varanasi. Sar Pe Uthayi Tokri felt Proudly Emotional. Amazing people here," he tweeted.

In another tweet, he said, "Prof IIT BHU team f Btech students n Locals participated with me also took Pledge to keep surrounding Clean, thank u (sic)."