The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has chalked out a list of activities on Saturday to celebrate the birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The birthday of Modi, who turns 72 on Saturday, will be marked by BJP with blood donation drives and cleanliness drives among other activities across India. Cleanliness has been a focal area of Modi, who launched the Swachh Bharat initiative for a cleaner India in 2014.
The BJP will also organise 'unity in diversity' festivals as part of its fortnight-long "seva" campaign to mark Modi's birthday, said BJP General Secretary Arun Singh on Friday.
The campaign will begin on Modi's birthday on September 17 and conclude on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Singh said .
Addressing the press conference at the BJP headquarters in Delhi, Singh said the main objective of the campaign is to "reach out to the poor and downtrodden and improve their quality of life".
Unity in diversity campaigns
As part of the campaign, BJP workers in all districts will organise "unity in diversity" festivals and send a message of "Ek Bharat, Shresth Bharat (One India, Great India)" to the people.
In these festivals, BJP functionaries in all state units will identify a state different from theirs and adopt its language and culture for a day, Singh said.
Plantation, cleanliness drives, khadi promotion
The BJP will undertake plantation drive, clealiness drive, and awareness campaigns for water conservation during the fortnight-long campaign, said Singh.
Singh said that BJP workers will also distribute equipment among the people with disability, promote khadi products, and organise free health checkup camps during this period.
"Welfare of the poor and downtrodden is the focal point of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government's welfare schemes," Singh said.
As part of the campaign, BJP workers and people in general will be encouraged to use Khadi and local products on October 2.
The BJP has formed an eight-member central panel led by Arun Singh to monitor the campaign.
The BJP has been celebrating Modi's birthday as 'Seva Diwas' (Day of Service) for several years by organising welfare activities across the country for a fortnight.
(With PTI inputs)
