Civil society group thanks Narendra Modi

New Delhi, May 19: After prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi stressed on cleanliness in his victory speech in Varanasi, a civil society group thanked him Monday.

BJP's prime ministerial candidate Modi may have chosen Varanasi as his constituency for many political reasons, but for activists and supporters of cleanliness in India, his choice of the constituency seems to be a blessing.

"Modi's thank you speech to the people of Kashi, which he delivered on the banks of the Ganga Saturday night, was full of dedication and passion for a cleaner country and a clean river. Modi also declared his intent to see India is a clean country by 2019, the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi," a statement from cleaning campaign Come, Clean India said.

The statement said absence of sewers and toilets in about half the country poses a huge challenge to the health, mortality rate and life expectancy in India.

According to a World Bank report released last week, over 597 million Indians have no access to toilets, and defecate in the open.

IANS