New Delhi, Dec 24: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in his constituency Varanasi Thursday to take part in a cleanliness drive to mark Good Governance Day on former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s birthday.
Government departments will organise seminars and other programmes during the day, which will coincide with Christmas, a public holiday.
An official said Modi will inspect cleanliness work at the Assi Ghat in Varanasi and also participate in a cleanliness drive there.
The Bharatiya Janata Party had asked its parliamentarians to devote an hour to sanitation , which will be 90th birthday of Vajpayee.
During his visit to Varanasi, Modi will also lay the foundation stone for a centre for teachers’ education at the Banaras Hindu University.
Modi is also expected to launch the Varanasi Mahotsav and lay the foundation stone for expansion of a stadium.
The National Democratic Alliance government has decided to observe Dec 25 as Good Governance Day every year.
Vajpayee and late freedom fighter-educationist Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya were Wednesday named for India’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna. Malaviya had founded the BHU in 1916.
Various government departments have organised events to mark Good Governance Day, and asked officials to take part in the programmes on a holiday.
The electronics and information technology department will organise a function to share good governance practices with people.
Communications and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad will be the chief guest at the event.
Rural Development Minister Birender Singh will address the media on Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), a programme closely identified with Vajpayee.
The PMGSY was launched during Vajpayee’s term as prime minister and is a regarded as a successful programme.
The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation is also organising a seminar on good governance initiatives.
Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan chaired a meeting Wednesday on the eve of Good Governance Day where it was decided that all official work will be done on e-files.
“Initiative in this regard has been taken and within the next three months, all proposals will be put up and approvals will be taken on e- files only,” an official release said.
The ministry also decided to review its public grievances disposal mechanism.
Paswan said official work should be disposed off in a time-bound manner and asked secretaries of his ministry to draw a time-frame for the purpose.
The Press Information Bureau has launched a webpage to mark Good Governance Day. The webpage is a one-stop information resource on Vajpayee.
Modi had told BJP parliamentarians earlier this month that Vajpayee’s “exceptional governance abilities should be recognised and publicised”.
He had said that Vajpayee’s birthday “is a day of pride for us” and “recognition of BJP is with good governance”.
Modi had termed cleanliness a “crusade” and asked the parliamentarians to undertake it with commitment and utmost simplicity.
“Every state and institution has given top most priority to cleanliness,” he had said.
In an apparent reference to controversies over cleanliness having been used as a photo opportunity, Modi had told parliamentarians not to undertake any activity for purpose of showmanship or display. (IANS)
