A group of 500 personnel belonging to the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) on Saturday embarked on a cycle rally from Mahatma Gandhi’s birth place, Porbandar, in Gujarat to Delhi on the eve of the 150th birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation. The rally was flagged off by Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, G. Kishan Reddy. The theme of the event is “non-violence”, “Swachhata” (cleanliness) and “say no to drugs”, the organisers said, adding the personnel of the BSF, CRPF, CISF, SSB, Assam Rifles, ITBP, and NSG are taking part in the rally. The cyclists are expected to reach ‘Rajghat’ in New Delhi on October 2. On the occasion, Reddy said the Mahatma’s vision of an “egalitarian, inclusive, sustainableand peaceful society is most relevant even today as the world faces problems of global terrorism, fanaticism, extremism among others”. He also recalled Mahatma’s message that sanitation and cleanliness is even more important than Independence. “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan was just a government project when it was launched five years ago but it has now turned into a mass movement,” Reddy said while recalling Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal from the ramparts of the Red Fort to discard single-use plastic. The minister praised the paramilitary forces for their dedication to the service of the nation. “I want to assure the people and the families of the Central Armed Police Forces that the entire country stands firmly with jawans and honours the sufferings and sacrifices they are making,” he said.
