NEW DELHI, Nov 14:
President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi today led the nation in paying tributes to first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on his 127th birth anniversary.
While homage was paid to Nehru at his memorial Shantivan by Mukherjee and Vice President Hamid Ansari, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan led Parliamentarians in paying floral tributes at Nehru’s portrait in Central Hall of Parliament.
“Tributes to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on his birth anniversary,” Modi said in a tweet.
Besides Mukherjee and Ansari, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi and Delhi’s former chief minister Sheila Dikshit paid floral tributes at Shantivan.
The leaders also released tricolour balloons amid playing of bands and singing of patriotic songs by school children.
In Parliament’s Central Hall, Mahajan and Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley, M Venkaiah Naidu, Ananth Kumar and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi paid floral tributes to Nehru.
Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P J Kurien, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and former deputy prime minister and Chairperson, Ethics Committee, L K Advani, several MPs, former parliamentarians, Secretaries-General of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Anoop Mishra and Shumsher K Sheriff respectively were also present.
A booklet containing the profile of Nehru, brought out in Hindi and English by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, was presented to the dignitaries.
The portrait of Nehru was unveiled by the then President S Radhakrishnan, in Central Hall on May 5, 1966.
Nehru was born to Motilal Nehru and Swaroop Rani on November 14, 1889, in Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh and his birthday is celebrated as Children’s Day. He remained in office until his death in 1964. (PTI)
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