President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat amid tunes of bhajans on his 149th birth anniversary on Tuesday.
Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi were also at Rajghat on Tuesday morning to pay tributes to the Mahatma.
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The Congress chief was among the first of the senior leaders to reach Rajghat on Tuesday. Both Rahul and Sonia are slated to travel to Wardha today for a Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting.
Also present at Rajghat were Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal and senior BJP leader L K Advani.
Modi will also visit Vijay Ghat to pay tributes to former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, whose birthday also falls on October 2.
In a message on Twitter, President Kovind posted: “Homage to Bapu on #GandhiJayanti. Let us rededicate ourselves to the values espoused by Mahatma Gandhi — peace, fraternity, harmony and inclusive national development. Gandhiji’s message remains relevant for all and he continues to be our guiding light”
The President also posted a tweet paying tributes to Lal Bahadur Shastri. He wrote: “Remembering our former Prime Minister Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri ji on his birth anniversary. His integrity, wartime leadership and role in the shaping of the Green Revolution remains an inspiration for the entire country”
Remembering Gandhi and Shastri, Modi posted two tweets in the morning.
Rahul Gandhi also posted a tweet and said: “Gandhiji is not an immobile statue, he is a living set of ideas and values flowing through India. Truth and non-violence, which he lived for and was killed for are the foundation of our country. True patriots must protect them.”
Kejriwal too posted two tweets paying tributes to Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri.
PM Modi is slated to attend programmes related to sanitation and renewable energy to mark Gandhi Jayanti.
The day will mark launch of the 150th anniversary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi.
“Events related to sanitation and renewable energy shall be the focus of the Prime Minister’s engagements on Gandhi Jayanti,” said a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office on Monday.
At the Rashtrapati Bhavan cultural centre, the PM will attend the closing session of the Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention — a four-day international conference that has brought together sanitation ministers and other leaders from around the world.
He will visit a mini digital exhibition at the event, accompanied by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. The dignitaries will launch commemorative postage stamps on Mahatma Gandhi and a CD based on his favourite hymn ‘Vaishnav Jan’.
The Swachh Bharat Awards will be distributed on this occasion.
Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the first Assembly of the International Solar Alliance later in the day.
