Mahatma Gandhi death anniversary: PM Narendra Modi paid tribute to the Father of the Nation.
Mahatma Gandhi, the nationalist who led India to freedom from the oppressive British colonial rule, was assassinated on January 30, 1948 at the age of 78. Nathuram Godse, a Hindu fanatic, was found guilty of murdering him and was executed the following year. Mahatma Gandhi gave Indians the vision and confidence that they were equal to the British and showed that they can defeat the greatest power of the world through peaceful means. He got everyone together and let the mass movement of freedom struggle. January 30 is thus marked as Martyr's Day.
On Mahatma Gandhi's 72nd death anniversary, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to the Father of the Nation saying that he will continue to inspire people to build a strong, capable and prosperous country. "A tribute to the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi on his death anniversary. The ideals of Bapu will continue to inspire us to build a strong, capable and prosperous New India," PM Modi tweeted.
The Prime Minister and President Ram Nath Kovind were at Rajghat to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi.
Amidst echoes of Gandhi''s favourite bhajan Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil BaijalChief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat, former PM Manmohan Singh were also present at the Rajghat to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi.
The three service chiefs - Admiral Sunil Lanba, Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria and General Manoj Mukund Naravane were also in attendance.
A gun salute was given at the memorial where school students and people from different walks of life gathered to pay respects to Bapu.
Tributes also poured on Twitter. Vice President Venkaiah Naidu tweeted, "I join the nation in paying my humble tributes to the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi on his death anniversary today. Mahatma Gandhi's life and message of peace and non-violence are relevant for all times and find resonance in every part of the world."
Union Minister Ravishankar Prasad wrote, "My tribute to #MahatmaGandhi on his death anniversary whose eternal teachings inspire us to work for the development of every section of our society."
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tweeted an inspiring quote by the national leader on his death anniversary. "I cannot teach you violence, as I do not believe in it. I can only teach you not to bow your heads before anyone, even at the cost of your life," he shared.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also paid his tributes to Gandhi in a tweet saying he taught the whole world to fight for right with the power of non-violence and truth.
"The relevance of his concepts of education, health, sanitation, harmony, brotherhood and swaraj remains intact in the lives of all of us even today. A great tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his death anniversary," Mr Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi.
#Mahatma Gandhi and #MartyrsDay were the top two India trends ion Twitter today.