Vice prez, PM pay tributes to Upadhyaya

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday paid tributes to Bharatiya Jana Sangh co-founder Deen Dayal Upadhyaya on his 102nd birth anniversary and recalled his efforts to uplift the weaker sections of the society.

Upadhyaya was born on this day in 1916 in Mathura and was an RSS pracharak.

"Tributes to Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Ji on his jayanti," Modi tweeted.

He also posted a video of his speech on Upadhyay in which he had underlined the thinker's views on the principle 'antodaya' which calls for upliftment of the poor for the overall development of the society.

Naidu said Upadhyaya's life was a reflection of his trials in early childhood. "...it typified how a person could rise above his circumstances through sheer grit and determination," he said in a tweet.

He said Upadhyaya was a profound philosopher, organiser par excellence and a leader who maintained the highest standards of personal integrity.

"Deendayalji's views on 'integral humanism' were that it is essential that we think about 'our national identity' without which there is no meaning of independence. Human knowledge is common property," he wrote.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the successor party of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, is organising programmes across the country to mark his birth anniversary. Prime Minister Modi will address BJP workers at 'karyakarta mahakumbh' in Bhopal later in the day.