The nation today remembered Mahatma Gandhi on his 146th birth anniversary with President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and other leaders paying floral tributes to him at his memorial here and Union Ministers M Venkaiah Naidu, vice President Hamid Ansari and Mahesh Sharma, BJP leader L K Advani, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad too joined in paying homage to the Father of the Nation.
Modi, who arrived at Rajghat at around 7:40 AM, offered rose petals to the ‘samadhi’, which attracts a large number of Gandhian followers and admirers today and clad in a khadi kurta and white pyjama, and a long traditional scarf, Modi, during his brief visit there, paid homage to the Mahatma by bowing his head at his memorial and performing a ‘parikrama’ around it.
He also posted a sepia toned picture of Gandhi, standing beside a broom, to emphasise the Gandhian vision-driven mission of ‘Swachh Bharat’ and Mahatma Gandhi, besides standing for liberty and freedom, also championed the cause of cleanliness, and Prime Minister’s ‘Clean India‘ campaign which completed one year today is a tribute to his values.
“Cleanliness was very close to Mahatma Gandhi‘s heart and let us reaffirm our commitment for a Swachh Bharat & fulfil our beloved Bapu’s dream and a clean India will enhance our development journey & benefit the poor,” said Modi.
An all faith prayer ceremony was also held on the occasion at the memorial and both Modi and Mukherjee attended the function during their brief visits and former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, who arrived along with Sonia Gandhi, also paid homage to the Mahatma on his birth anniversary.
A large number of school children also gathered at the venue to pay homage to the father of the nation and the nation also remembered former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on his 111th birth anniversary with Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading the nation in paying homage to the leader, who gave the slogan ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’, at his memorial at Vijay Ghat.
