14 November,2016 06:25 PM IST | | mid-day online correspondent
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Monday paid floral tributes to India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, on his 127th anniversary
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Monday paid floral tributes to India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, on his 127th anniversary.
They arrived at Shanti Vana - Nehru's memorial on the banks of the river Yamuna, to pay homage.
Besides Singh and Gandhi, President Pranab Mukherjee and Vice President Hamid Ansari led the nation in paying tributes to first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
Delhi's former chief minister Sheila Dikshit also paid floral tributes at Shantivan.
The leaders also released tricolour balloons amid playing of bands and singing of patriotic songs by school children.
In Parliament's Central Hall, Mahajan and Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley, M Venkaiah Naidu, Ananth Kumar and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi paid floral tributes to Nehru.
Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P J Kurien, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and former deputy prime minister and Chairperson, Ethics Committee, L K Advani, several MPs, former parliamentarians, Secretaries-General of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Anoop Mishra and Shumsher K Sheriff respectively were also present.
A booklet containing the profile of Nehru, brought out in Hindi and English by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, was presented to the dignitaries.
The portrait of Nehru was unveiled by the then President S Radhakrishnan, in Central Hall on May 5, 1966.
Nehru was born to Motilal Nehru and Swaroop Rani on November 14, 1889, in Allahabad. His birthday is celebrated as Children's Day across the country. Nehru, who became Prime Minister on August 15, 1947 when the country gained independnece, remained in office until his death on May 27, 1964.
