Kalam, Sonia lead tributes to Mahatma Gandhi

New Delhi, Oct 2: President A P J Abdul Kalam, Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi led the nation in paying respects to Mahatma Gandhi on his 137th birth anniversary today.

Hundreds of school children, common people and politicians visited the Samadhi of the Father of the Nation at the Rajghat this morning to offer floral tributes.

Among the early visitors were President Kalam, Mr Shekhawat and Ms Gandhi as well as Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.

The country is also celebrating the 102nd birth anniversary of former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri today. Vijay Ghat, the samadhi of the late leader, witnessed a stream of visitors this morning, who paid floral tributes.

At the Rajghat, an all-religion prayer meeting was held this morning for communal harmony and peace. Gandhians and students rolled charkhas, the symbol of India's freedom struggle, near the Samadhi to remember the ideals of one of the greatest leaders of the modern world.

The 137th birth anniversary of Gandhiji coincides with the 100 years of the Satyagraha movement he launched in South Africa, which became the cornerstone for India's independence movement. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is presently visiting South Africa, had joined President Thabo Mbeki yesterday in the Satyagraha Centenary Celebrations in Durban.

UNI

Related Stories