Remembering the Mahatma: Political leaders pay homage to Gandhi on birth anniversary

New Delhi: The nation on Thursday remembered Mahatma Gandhi on his 145th birth anniversary with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders paying floral tributes at his memorial in New Delhi.

Vice President Hamid Ansari, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh were among those who also paid homage to the Father of the Nation.

Naidu was the first to arrive at Rajghat, Mahatma Gandhi’s ‘samadhi’, followed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi who was accompanied by former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. After a while, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrived at Rajghat and paid floral tributes.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a brief visit to the memorial. Clad in a light blue kurta and a white Nehru jacket, Modi arrived at Rajghat around 7:40 am where he was received by Venkaiah Naidu.

He went straight to the ‘samadhi’ where after offering floral tributes, Modi bowed his head. Manmohan Singh and Modi greeted each other with folded hands when the latter approached the sitting area.

The Prime Minister sat there for some time before he left for his other engagements. An all-religion prayer was conducted during the ceremony.

The favourite hymns of Gandhi were also played on the occasion. A large number of schoolchildren, foreigners and common people had also gathered at the venue to pay tributes to Gandhi.

PTI