Rijiju leads Swachhata Hi Seva drive at Dyal Singh College
Synopsis
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju led the Ministry of Minority Affairs' SwachhataHiSeva2026 programme at Dyal Singh College, New Delhi, on 30 September 2026, administering the Swachhata pledge, conducting a cleanliness drive, and planting a sapling under the EkPedMaaKeNaam initiative alongside senior ministry officials.
Key Takeaways
Kiren Rijiju personally led the SwachhataHiSeva2026 event organised by the Ministry of Minority Affairs at Dyal Singh College, New Delhi on 30 September 2026 .
Senior officials present included NMDFC CMD Dr.
Abha Rani Singh , Ministry Secretary Dr.
Srivatsa Krishna , and two Joint Secretaries.
The minister administered the Swachhata Hi Seva Pledge and led an on-campus cleanliness drive.
A sapling was planted under the #EkPedMaaKeNaam ('A Tree in Mother's Name') greening initiative.
The event reflects the ministry's practice of embedding national cleanliness and environment campaigns within minority-focused educational institutions.
Broom in hand and a sapling ready to plant, Union Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju stepped onto the grounds of Dyal Singh College, New Delhi, on Wednesday, 30 September 2026, to lead the Ministry of Minority Affairs' flagship #SwachhataHiSeva2026 event — bringing senior bureaucrats and college faculty together for a morning of pledges, cleaning, and greening.
Rijiju administered the Swachhata Hi Seva Pledge to assembled officials and students, joined by Dr. Srivatsa Krishna, Secretary of the Ministry of Minority Affairs; Dr. Abha Rani Singh, CMD of the National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC); Shri Ashim Kumar Modi, Joint Secretary and Financial Adviser; Joint Secretaries Shri Shyama Prasad Roy and Shri Mohammad Afzal; and Prof. V.K. Paliwal, Principal of Dyal Singh College. The event then moved outdoors — a cleanliness drive across the campus, followed by a sapling plantation under the #EkPedMaaKeNaam initiative.
What SwachhataHiSeva means inside a minority-affairs ministry
The Swachh Bharat Mission, launched in 2014, established Swachhata Hi Seva as an annual nationwide cleanliness mobilisation. The Ministry of Minority Affairs has periodically anchored its own edition of the campaign at educational institutions with significant minority student populations — using the visible platform of a college campus to carry the sanitation and greening message directly to those communities. Dyal Singh College, a constituent college of the University of Delhi, provided exactly that kind of high-footfall, symbolically resonant venue.
The NMDFC — a public-sector undertaking that provides credit and financial support to minority communities — was represented at the event through its CMD, signalling that the ministry's financial arm is also being drawn into the broader cleanliness and environment push, not just its welfare-scheme work.
EkPedMaaKeNaam: the tree-planting thread running through 2026
The sapling plantation under #EkPedMaaKeNaam ('A Tree in Mother's Name') links the event to a wider Central Government greening campaign that has been woven into multiple ministerial activities through 2026. By attaching the plantation to a Swachhata Hi Seva event, the Ministry of Minority Affairs demonstrated the kind of inter-initiative bundling that maximises visibility from a single field visit. One campus, one morning — two national campaigns ticked.
The presence of the minister himself, rather than a junior functionary, sets a tone the ministry will likely carry into further Swachhata Hi Seva events at minority-concentrated institutions in the weeks ahead — and potentially into parliamentary discourse when the winter session convenes.
Point of View
Keeping the ministry aligned with two of the government's most prominent citizen-facing campaigns simultaneously. Bundling EkPedMaaKeNaam with a Swachh Bharat event maximises political signalling per field visit, a pattern that has become standard practice across Central ministries since 2014. For the Minority Affairs ministry specifically, anchoring these events at educational institutions serves a dual purpose: demonstrating outreach to minority communities while keeping the ministry in the frame of mainstream national campaigns. Watch whether this format is replicated at minority-concentrated institutions in states heading toward assembly elections.
NationPress
30 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Swachhata Hi Seva 2026?
Swachhata Hi Seva 2026 is the annual nationwide cleanliness campaign held under the Swachh Bharat Mission framework, during which government ministries, institutions and citizens conduct cleanliness drives and pledge events across India.
What happened at Dyal Singh College on 30 September 2026?
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju led the Ministry of Minority Affairs' SwachhataHiSeva2026 event at Dyal Singh College, New Delhi, where he administered the Swachhata pledge, participated in a campus cleanliness drive, and planted a sapling under the EkPedMaaKeNaam initiative.
What is the EkPedMaaKeNaam initiative?
EkPedMaaKeNaam, meaning 'A Tree in Mother's Name,' is a Central Government tree-plantation campaign that has been integrated into various ministerial activities across 2026 to promote greening and environmental awareness.
What is NMDFC and why was it represented at the event?
The National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC) is a public-sector undertaking under the Ministry of Minority Affairs that provides credit and financial support to minority communities; its CMD participated in the event as part of the ministry's broader institutional outreach.
What is Dyal Singh College?
Dyal Singh College is a constituent college of the University of Delhi located in New Delhi, chosen as the venue for the ministry's SwachhataHiSeva2026 event.
