- Advertisement - Review Nepal
Guwahati : In a rich tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 148th birth anniversary, the Assam government on Monday has announced to gift Khadi clothes to all the state government employees from next financial year. 
 
While attending in a function on the occasion of 148th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Assam Khadi and Village Industries, Finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that, the state government has decided to gift two sets of Khadi clothes to all 4 lakhs state government employees.
 
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led state government has asked state Khadi board to execute the plan by March 31, 2018.
 
'We will gift two sets of Khadi shirt to men and salwar or Mekhela Chador to women employees. There would not to be any compulsory directive to the state government employees to wear Khadi clothes,' Himanta Biswa Sarma said. 
 
'The gifts will hopefully be given to the state government employees before Rongali Bihu in April next. For it, the state government would likely to bear more than Rs 12 crore and the state government had already allocated Rs 5 crore to the Khadi board,' Sarma said.
 
'The Assam minister said that, it will help to revamp the Khadi industry in the state.
 
'If the Khadi board can execute it properly, the state government will make school uniforms of Khadi cloth,' the Assam minister said.
 
'Stressing on Gandhi's dream of the spinning and weaving movement that was elevated to an ideology for self-reliance and self government, the Assam minister said that, it was for economic, cultural and social reasons and not merely political that Bapu established the Khadi Movement. 
 
Assam Khadi and Village Industries board chairman Kamala Kalita during his speech read out a letter from the Assam Chief Minister to the audience on his not being able to attend the celebrations due to unavoidable personal engagements. 
 
In his speech Kalita said that the Chief Minister has consented to grace the occasion of unveiling a bust of Mahatma Gandhi that the Khadi board has installed at its office premises.
 
'The meeting was also attended among others by Kabita Deka, CEO, Assam Khadi and Village Industries board, Meghna Hazarika, Board of Directors, Assam Khadi and Village Industries Board and Bhubaneswar Barman, Freedom Fighter and former MLAs.
 
(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)