Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Droupadi Murmu, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, federal ministers and others paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his would be 154th birthday on Monday.
Modi, Kharge and most of the top dignitaries paid floral tributes to the Father of the Nation at Rajghat (Mahatama Gandhi's memorial) in New Delhi.
Earlier in a tweet, Modi said: “I bow to Mahatma Gandhi on the special occasion of Gandhi Jayanti. His timeless teachings continue to illuminate our path. Mahatma Gandhi's impact is global, motivating the entire humankind to further the spirit of unity and compassion."
“May we always work towards fulfilling his dreams. May his thoughts enable every youngster to be the agent of change he dreamt of, fostering unity and harmony all over," he added.
President Murmu while paying tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, said that ''his ideology is timeless and will always be relevant for the world.''
In a message on the eve of Gandhi Jayanti, Murmu said: “Gandhi ji's ideals of truth and non-violence paved a new way for the world. Gandhi ji not only fought for non-violence throughout his life, but he also took up the cause of cleanliness, women empowerment, self-reliance and farmers' rights and fought against untouchability, social discrimination and illiteracy.”
Quoting Gandhi's famous saying, "You can bind me, torture me and even destroy my body, but you can't imprison my thoughts," Kharge said in a tweet in Hindi: "The thoughts and ideals of Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi, who inspired the entire world to follow the path of truth, non-violence and peace, and the founder of the Indian freedom struggle, are relevant to us even today."
"His ideas of truth, non-violence, peace and equality are being challenged today, but we are fighting them by following the values taught by Bapu," he added.
Paying tribute to the Father of the Nation, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi shared a video of Mahatma Gandhi's journey and compared it to his 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' (Unite India Campaign), saying in a tweet in Hindi: "The path of truth, non-violence and harmony, the path to unite India, was shown by Mahatma Gandhi. Hundreds of greetings to Bapu on his birth anniversary".
Mahatma Gandhi's birthday is also celebrated as the International Day of Nonviolence to honour his values of non-violence and tolerance.