Brand ambassadors of Swachch Bharat Mission meet president

Actors, musicians, industrialists and politicians, serving as brand ambassadors of the Swachh Bharat Mission called on President Pranab Mukherjee at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on Thursday.

The glittering list included yoga exponent Baba Ramdev, industrialist Anil Ambani, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor and actor Kamal Hasan.

Congratulating union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu for involving distinguished public figures as Swachh Bharat Mission's brand ambassadors, Mukherjee said that over the past one year, significant strides have been made in Swachh Bharat Mission but much more needs to be done.

In addition to building affordable and sustainable infrastructure, the mission's success is equally dependent on each individual's action, and hence, the strategy is to engage the country's icons as Swachh Bharat ambassadors to make it a 'Jan Andolan' (peoples' movement), he added.

The president said that Swachh Bharat ambassadors have a huge potential to influence public to adopt safe sanitation practices and integrate them into their daily lives.

"An ambassador does not only encourage his or her followers to imbibe the spirit of a Clean India but also motivates them to become Swachh Bharat Ambassadors themselves, making this mission a true form of 'Jan Andolan'," he added.

Naidu said: "The Swacch Bharat Mission is all about mindsets. All the ambassadors should go to the nook and corner of the country to spread the message."

He also released a coffee table book on the mission and presented its first copy to the president.