Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today flagged off the Swachhta marathon on the birth anniversary of Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi here and paid rich tributes to the leader. BJP is holding the marathon across the state with senior leaders and ministers being present at different cities. The marathon was organised between 0800 and 1000 hrs. Governor Ram Naik and the Chief Minister went to Khadi Ashram in the Hazratganj area and used a 'charkha' to pay tribute to the 'Bapu'. They also garlanded his statue at the GPO roundabout. The two leaders later paid floral tributes to former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on his birth anniversary. Flagging off the marathon from Patel statue, Mr Adityanath called on the people to complete the target of cleanness by 2019. He administered an oath to the participants for making the country and the state clean. UP BJP president Mahendra Nath Pandey and Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma were also present along with the Chief Minister. The marathon was organised in all the cities with Mr Maurya witnessing it in Kanpur, state minister Srikant Sharma in Agra, and state minister Suresh Khanna in Varanasi. UNI
