Ansari, Modi pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi

Vice President Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi on his 67th death anniversary.

The two paid floral tributes at Gandhi's memorial here and participated in the prayer meeting organised at Gandhi Smriti.

"My tributes to Pujya (respected) Bapu," Modi tweeted.

Gandhi was assassinated by Nathuram Godse on this day in 1948 at Birla House. The building, located in the heart of New Delhi, has since been converted into a museum, and is known as Gandhi Smriti.

Union Minister and singer Babul Supriyo set the tone of the evening with an old Bollywood melody "Pyaar Bun Te Chalo" to convey the message of love and brotherhood.

Gandhi was remembered with soulful bhajanas (devotional songs) like "Vaishnava Jana To" by Suresh Wadkar, echoing in the invocation that concluded with a minute-long silence.

Modi, dressed in a fawn kurta and a dark-brown jacket with a grey shawl wrapped around, mixed with the crowd and stopped briefly to greet school children, who clicked selfies with him.