CJI, Sonia, Rahul skip meet on Mahatma's birth anniversary

UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra today skipped a meeting chaired by President Ram Nath Kovind to discuss ways to celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and BJP veteran L K Advani were among those who attended the first meeting of the 'national committee', sources in the government said.

A total of 23 chief ministers, including those from West Bengal, UP, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh attended the meet, where a blueprint to mark the occasion was discussed. The celebrations are to begin on October 2 this year and continue till October 2, 2020.

Chairing the meeting, President Ram Nath Kovind said Gandhi's principle of 'Ahimsa' (non-violence) is very relevant today with the world facing terrorism and other forms of violence.

"Mahatma Gandhi was India's conscience keeper. The Mahatma is our past, he is our present and he is also our future," the president said.

According to sources, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the gathering that the nation should celebrate the anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi next year "in action" and not through tokenism.

Modi said that it is not enough to just pay homage to the leader but the government should ensure that he lives amongst the people, sources said.

The prime minister said Gandhi's works have to be imbibed in life so that generations to come remember him and the celebration should be in the form of a 'jan andolan' (mass movement).

After the meeting, Modi tweeted, "Mahatma Gandhi gave his life for the nation. He led a movement due to which our generations can breathe the air of freedom and have the privilege of living in a vibrant democracy."