BHOPAL: Two-and-a-half months after a close-door meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and known Jain seer Acharya Vidyasagar in the state capital, the Madhya Pradesh government has appealed to its employees to promote khadi and handlooms by wearing khadi clothes at work once a week.

“Madhya Pradesh government appeals to all officers and employees to wear khadi-made clothes once a week, as per their wish,” read a government circular issued by principal secretary of general administration department (GAD) MK Varshney. The appeal is aimed at promoting handmade fabric and small and medium industries dependent on it.

Acharya Vidyasagar who had asked Prime Minister Modi to promote cottage industry and khadi in the country to boost rural industries was keen to see some big projects come up in Madhya Pradesh for which he had also spoken with chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Madhya Pradesh being the pioneer in implementing Modi’s campaign to promote khadi has taken a special initiative to promote khadi, beginning with its own government employees, said sources.

In his first address to the nation on radio in Mann ki Baat, Prime Minister Modi had also referred his campaign to promote poor communities involved in making khadi products, Modi had urged people to buy khadi products saying, “If you buy khadi, you light the lamp of prosperity in the house of a poor person.”

“We have taken up a challenge to promote khadi industry in Madhya Pradesh as chief minister Chouhan was also keen to revive handicraft and handloom industry. We had also contacted Acharya Vidyasagar to know his view about promoting cottage industry and when Prime Minister appealed to the public, we decided to plan a programme by the coming year”, minister of state for cooperatives Vishwas Sarang said.

He further said the revival plan in at the initial stage but we are confidence to support kadhi industry like silk industry in Chanderi (Ashok Nagar) and in Bagh (Dhar).

Source: The Times of India