‘Not about taking credit’: Bittu Tabahi rejects Dhruv Rathee’s PR accusation

He also questioned Choudhary’s statement during the meeting that the government was already carrying out cleanliness-related work.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Dr Mohan Yadav (@drmohanyadav51) 

“Kya kar rahi hai sarkar? Kuch nahi, sirf PR kar rahi (They have come to take credit. One boy did all the work, and when he went viral, they called him for a photoshoot. What is the government doing? Nothing, just public relations),” Rathee added.

Bittu Tabahi responds

Choudhary responded to Rathee in the comments, saying the meeting should not be viewed as an attempt by the government to take credit for his efforts. “Dhruv Bhaiya credit lene ki baat nahi hai, Govt. ne pehle bhi mere kaam ko appreciate kia hai,” Choudhary wrote.

Choudhary said his larger concern was civic responsibility and encouraging more people to participate in cleanliness efforts.

“Baat yaha civic sense ki hai; main bas ye chahta hu log bhi apni jimmedari samjhe, or meri tarah swachta ke lie aage aye (This is not about taking credit. The government has appreciated my work earlier as well. The issue here is civic sense. I only want people to understand their responsibility and come forward for cleanliness, just as I did),” he added.

Mohan Yadav praises individual initiative

During the meeting, Yadav praised Choudhary’s determination and his efforts to clean the Ajnar. In a post, Yadav said Choudhary demonstrated that meaningful change does not always require a large group of people and can begin with one sincere individual taking initiative.

Choudhary’s work also caught the eye of Boyan Slat, founder and CEO of the Netherlands-based non-profit The Ocean Cleanup, who offered the young activist a job after seeing a post about his efforts.