Ayodhya::While urging students to keep India clean on Saturday, Union Minister Anurag Thakur reminded them of the sacrifices made by freedom fighters for the country's independence.

"We were not able to make sacrifices for the country (during the Independence struggle), but we can definitely contribute (by keeping India clean)," said the Minister of Information and Broadcasting and Youth Affairs and Sports at a Clean India programme event at the Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Avadh University in Ayodhya."We should think about how we're going to leave this country for future generations," he added.

"I want to say this to the people of Ayodhya, imagine if people ran a cleanliness drive when Lord Ram returned to Ayodhya years ago, it's time that we run a similar drive this Diwali in Ayodhya," the Minister said. In honour of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsava, Thakur's Department of Youth Affairs of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports is organising a nationwide Clean India campaign from October 1 to October 31.

Thakur had earlier stated, "From October 1 to October 31, I have pledged to collect 75 lakh kg of plastic waste and garbage on behalf of the Youth Programmes and Sports Department. We will do everything we can in this month to collect 75 lakh kg of plastic from every corner of the country."

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