President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were among those who paid tributes to socialist icon Dr Ram Manohar Lohia on his 108th birth anniversary on Friday.

President Kovind hailed Lohia for being an inspiring figure for governance based on welfare of the populace.

“Tributes to Dr Ram Manohar Lohia on his birth anniversary. Dr Lohia dedicated his life to the quest for a just, fair and egalitarian society. He remains an inspiration for welfare-oriented governance,” wrote President Kovind on his official Twitter handle.

Tributes to Dr Ram Manohar Lohia on his birth anniversary. Dr Lohia dedicated his life to the quest for a just, fair and egalitarian society. He remains an inspiration for welfare-oriented governance #PresidentKovind

— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) March 23, 2018

PM Modi praised the socialist path that Dr Lohia charted for others to follow.

“Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia is one of the most remarkable personalities of 20th century India. He combined scholarly zeal with a penchant for grassroot level politics. His rich thoughts continue to shape socio-political discourse. I bow to Dr. Lohia on his Jayanti,” he wrote on Twitter.

Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia is one of the most remarkable personalities of 20th century India. He combined scholarly zeal with a penchant for grassroot level politics. His rich thoughts continue to shape socio-political discourse. I bow to Dr. Lohia on his Jayanti.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 23, 2018

Samajwadi Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, too, remembered Dr Lohia.

“My tribute to great economist and socialist thinker Ram Manohar Lohia ji on his 108th jayanti,” wrote Yadav on Twitter. Samajwadi Party sees Dr Lohia as their ideological light.

महान अर्थशास्त्री और समाजवादी चिंतक डॉक्टर राम मनोहर लोहिया जी को उनकी 108वीं जयंती पर शत-शत नमन!

— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) March 23, 2018

Dr Lohia was born on 23 March 1910 in Akbarpur, Uttar Pradesh. Along with Rambriksh Benipuri, Jai Prakash Narayan, and Acharya Narendra Deva, Ram Manohar Lohia founded the Congress Socialist Party and also served as the editor of its mouthpiece Congress Socialist.

Jawaharlal Nehru selected him as the secretary of the Foreign Department of the A.I.C.C in 1936. He later became critical of Gandhian leadership of the Congress and Communists

He was jailed many times by the British for his pro-independence activities. Dr Lohia breathed his last on 12 October 1967 aged 57.