Nagpur: Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday suggested photos of people spitting on roads after eating pan masala should be clicked and published in newspapers for the public to see.

Addressing a 'Swacch Bharat Abhiyan' event organised by the Nagpur civic body, Gadkari recalled he used to throw away the chocolate wrapper outside his car in the past.

On the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Gadkari emphasised maintaining cleanliness to protect the ecology and pitched for an environment free of single-use plastic.

"People are very smart. After eating chocolates, they discard the wrapper immediately. However, when they visit foreign countries, they put the chocolate cover in their pocket after eating it. They behave nicely abroad," he said.

In the past, I had this habit of throwing away the chocolate wrapper outside the car. Today, when I eat chocolate, I take its wrapper home and throw it in the dustbin, he added.

Raising the issue of cleanliness in public places, Gadkari said photos of people who spit on the road after eating pan masala should be clicked and published in newspapers for the public to see.

"Mahatma Gandhiji did such experiments," he claimed.

The Nagpur MP also pitched for converting waste into wealth and suggested initiatives wherein waste was converted into bioproducts.