Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], January 16 (ANI): In response to the Prime Minister's call for cleaning up of temples, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday swept the floor of Hanuman Temple in Lucknow. He was in Lucknow to attend the Army Day events.

Singh reached Hanuman Setu temple near Lucknow University in the morning, where he picked a broom and cleant the floor. Thereafter, he offered prayers.

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"Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi has called upon all the countrymen to contribute towards cleanliness in the temples around them. Today, I went to Hanuman Setu temple in Lucknow and did Shramdaan under #SwachhTeerth campaign and got the privilege of serving Hanumanji," the Defence Minister said in a post on 'X'.

On Sunday, BJP president JP Nadda launched a nationwide cleanliness drive at temples. The initiative was launched focusing on temples, which will continue till January 22, the day of the consecration ceremony at the Ayodhya Ram temple.

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Speaking on the 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony, Rajnath Singh said that there cannot be a more joyous occasion for the people of the country and all Lord Ram devotees.

"On January 22, the Pran Pratishtha of Ram Lalla is going to take place. People from the country and all over the world will participate in it. There cannot be a more joyous occasion for the people of the country and all Lord Ram devotees...," the Raksha Mantri said speaking to reporters after he was spotted sweeping the floor of the temple premises with a broom.

Senior BJP leaders, including Union ministers and chief ministers of various states, picked up the broom and mop across the country to participate in the cleanliness drive.

Earlier on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi cleaned the premises of the Kalaram Temple in Maharashtra's Nashik as part of Swachchata Abhiyan campaign. Visuals showed the Prime Minister with a mop and bucket mopping the floor of the temple.

The PM appealed to the people to carry out Swachhata activities (cleanliness drives) at temples across the country ahead of the consecration ceremony of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.

Delivering his inaugural address at the 27th National Youth Festival in Nashik, the Prime Minister reiterated his call for cleanliness campaigns, urging citizens to clean pilgrimage places and temples across the country on 'Pran Pratishtha' day of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to attend the installation of the idol of Ram Lalla at the grand temple on January 22. (ANI)

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