Nation celebrates 139th birth anniversary of the Mahatma today
A grateful nation pays homage to the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi on his 139th birth anniversary on Thursday while the day is also being celebrated as the 104th birth anniversary of the former Prime Minister Lal Bhadur Shastri.
A series of functions are being organized to mark the occasion across the country.
An all religion Prayer meeting is being held at the Samadhi of the father of the Nation at Rajghat.
At a function at Gandhi Smiriti a prayer meeting is being held on the occasion.
The day is also being observed as International non-violence day.
President Pratibha Patil, Vice-President Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh lead the nation in paying rich tributes to the messiah of non-violence.
UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Opposition leader L K Advani, Home Minister Shivraj Patil, Defence Minister A K Antony, Panchayatira Minister Manishankar Aiyar and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit also paid floral tributes at the samadhi at Raj Ghat as the country fondly remembers the Mahatma.
An inter-religious prayer meeting marked the birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation at the samadhi, where leaders, children, youth and women paid floral tributes.
The roads leading to the samadhi were decorated with flowers. Heavy security arrangements were made for the occasion.
Clad in white dresses and hats, people from all walks of life thronged Raj Ghat to pay respects to the apostle of non-violence.
Many people had taken their ‘charkha’ and ‘takli’ and participated in the non-stop 24-hour collective spinning organised on the occasion.
104th birth anniversary of Lal Bhadur Shastri today
The day is also being celebrated as the 104th birth anniversary of the Former Prime Minister Lal Bhadur Shastri.
A prayer meeting is being held at his Samadhi in the National capital.
On the eve of the birth anniversary celebrations of Shastri ji, the President has presented the first Lal Bhadur Shastri National Award for excellence in public administration to the Managing Director of Delhi metro rail corporation Dr. E Sreedharan.
The award has been instituted by the Lal Bhadur Shastri Institute of Management.