Surat: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called for making cleanliness a habit and praised the people of Navsari for undertaking cleanliness drives across 400 villages over the past week, saying such efforts would bring a sense of pride and inspire others.Addressing a gathering of BJP workers, professionals and citizens after inaugurating the party’s newly built ‘Namo Kamalam’ office in Navsari district, Modi said the office should serve as a “ray of hope” for people facing injustice and its scope of public service should extend beyond the building itself.“Kamalam should serve as hope against injustice for people as the ray of hope should bloom from this office. It is not tough to make a building but the people who are left behind should be served through it by expanding the scope of service,” Modi said.He said cleanliness should become a habit and praised the district’s initiative to carry out “micro-cleaning” in villages. He said the efforts would make the villages cleaner and more welcoming during festivals including Shravan, Ganpati, Navratri and Diwali.Modi said the blessings of people involved in the cleanliness drive would extend beyond their villages and into their hearts. He also took a dig at people over the habit of chewing ‘mava’ and spitting in public places, urging them to give up the practice.The prime minister also praised BJP workers in Navsari for continuing their work for development despite the party receiving overwhelming public support in the district for several years.“Even an ordinary, grassroots worker of the BJP has never become intoxicated with power. After all these years and so much love, our workers have firmly held onto the path of public service,” he said.Modi also lauded efforts to make Navsari free of malnutrition and tuberculosis (TB), saying social initiatives that improve people’s lives were more important than electoral considerations.“Making society free of malnutrition is bigger than ‘vote’. Through it, blessings are showered from every home. Workers thinking of freeing Navsari from TB is nothing but worrying about the future generation. It gives me a sense of immense pride,” he said.The state-of-the-art ‘Namo Kamalam’ building, spread across 40,000 sq ft, has been built at a cost of around Rs 10 crore. It will serve as the BJP’s new district office and is equipped with an AI-ready setup, high-speed internet and modern amenities.The event was attended by a large number of professionals, including doctors, engineers, professors, lawyers, businessmen and traders, besides BJP workers and citizens.
