PM Narendra Modi paid tribute to Lal Bahadur Shastri at a bust erected in his memory at the heart of Tashkent.
The life of Lal Bahadur Shastri inspires every Indian, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today as he paid glowing tributes to the former premier who died in Tashkent following a heart attack in 1966.
PM Modi, who arrived in Tashkent yesterday to attend the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), paid tribute to Mr Shastri at a bust erected in his memory at the heart of Tashkent.
"The life of Lal Bahadur Shastri ji inspires every Indian. Paid tributes to this great personality in Tashkent," PM Modi tweeted.
A prominent figure in the independence movement, Mr Shastri died of a heart attack in Tashkent in 1966 during an official visit at the age of 61. Mr Shastri had taken over the office of Prime Minister after Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's death in 1964.
He is best remembered for his slogan 'Jai Jawan Jai Kisan' which was aimed at encouraging the farmers for a better yield to reduce country's dependence on imported food grains while also to infuse renewed enthusiasm in soldiers fighting the Indo-Pak war of 1965.
"Paying homage to a great son of India. PM @narendramodi offers flowers at the bust of former PM Shastri," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted.
The prime minister also interacted with the sculptor who made the bust of Mr Shastri.
"A moment with the sculptor. PM greets Yaakov Shapiro, the Uzbek sculptor of former PM Shastri's bust," Mr Swarup said in another tweet.