Promoting khadi is a tribute to Gandhi, says CM

The UP government will soon organise a fashion show to support and promote khadi, said chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday.

The UP government will soon organise a fashion show to support and promote khadi, said chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday.

Paying tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, he said, “Gandhiji promoted ‘swadeshi’. If we support and promote khadi, it will be a true tribute to the Father of the Nation,” he said during the inauguration of the Khadi festival in Lucknow.

Support khadi and Gram Udyog would also generate jobs, he emphasized.

The chief minister informed the gathering that khadi products would soon be available online, as an agreement had been signed with an e-commerce company.

Yogi Adityanath also discouraged people from using plastic. “Promotion of khadi and gram udyog can pave way for providing alternatives to plastic,” he said.

During the programme, the chief minister distributed loans worth Rs 100 crore to beneficiaries under various schemes.

“When we took over the reins, the blanket industry in UP had almost been shut. We revived it,” he said.

Taking a dig at the previous dispensation, Yogi said: “They shut it. I am glad they did not sell it off as it was a routine affair for them.”

He also directed the department concerned to increase the number of khadi training centres from the existing 10 to 18 in all divisions of the state. These centres would be linked with the skill development mission, said the CM

Meanwhile, khadi and gram udyog minister Siddharth Nath Singh said he would do his best to revive the village industry.

While offering a ‘charkha’ as a gift to the chief minister, Singh said: “I have a strong link with ‘charkha’. My grandfather, former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, got a ‘charkha’ in dowry. This is considered the symbol of self-reliance.”