Nation pays tribute to Mahatma Gandhi

Tributes were paid to Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi Thursday, as the nation marked his 66th death anniversary.

President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh led the nation in paying tributes to Mahatma Gandhi.

The president, prime minister and Vice President Hamid Ansari laid wreaths and paid floral tributes at his granite memorial at Rajghat on the right bank of the Yamuna river.

Defence Minister A.K. Antony, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi, senior BJP leaders L.K. Advani and chiefs of the three services also visited the memorial and paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues Rakhi Birla, Somnath Bharti and Satyendra Jain also reached Rajghat to pay homage to the Mahatma.

Kejriwal and members of the Delhi assembly also paid homage at the assembly complex in the Old Secretariat.

A number of central ministers, leaders of various political parties and people from different walks of life were present Thursday at Rajghat.

A multi-faith prayer service was organised with religious leaders of Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Jains, Parsis and Sikhs participating. Around 250 students from different schools were present, and devotional songs were sung.

A multi-faith prayer service will be conducted Thursday evening at Gandhi Smriti, formerly known as Birla House, where Gandhi was assassinated Jan 30, 1948.