Arvind Kejriwal leads cleanliness drive in a local slum close to Narendra Modi's official residence

NEW DELHI: As PM Modi launched the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan from Rajpath on Thursday, Aam Aadmi Party ( AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal led a cleaning drive in a slum colony, a stone’s throw from the PM’s residence on 7 Race Course Road in Delhi.

Kejriwal spent almost three hours in the BR camp and even helped clean choked drains in the colony. BR Camp is part of Kejriwal’s New Delhi assembly constituency. His party simultaneously carried out similar initiatives in at least 70 locations in the Capital and hundreds more across the country, said a party spokesperson.

AAP volunteers also had lunch with the safai karamcharis after the cleanliness drive. AAP also ran a daylong campaign on social media urging people to post before-and-after shots of their effort, an appeal similar to the one made by Modi during the launch at Rajpath.

The party shared 1,000 such photographs on an associated website called "I Fuel Swaraj". This week Kejriwal surprised his opponents by coming out in full support of Modi’s call for cleanliness.

Responding to a letter written by Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu on behalf of the Modi government, the AAP chief agreed that there was need for such an initiative.

"The main thing is that we have to respect our workers, one who always cleans. We have to increase their salaries and solve other related issues," said Kejriwal.