NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday attended a special interfaith prayer meeting at Gandhi Smriti in New Delhi on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary, where he paid floral tributes to the Father of the Nation.

Earlier in the day, PM Modi paid floral tributes to Gandhi at Rajghat and former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri at Vijay Ghat to mark their respective birth anniversaries. In a post on X, the Prime Minister had further said the lives of Gandhi and Shastri, marked by “simplicity, courage and service to the nation”, continue to inspire generations. He said their ideals and commitment to India's progress would remain a guiding light.PM had earlier paid tribute to Gandhi on his 157th birth anniversary and called for greater adoption of Swadeshi, with Khadi at the forefront. He urged people to buy at least one Khadi product on October 2 and take pride in calling it Swadeshi.“May Bapu’s timeless message keep guiding us towards a better society and a Viksit Bharat,” he said.Several other leaders also paid tribute to Gandhi and Shastri in the Central Hall of Samvidhan Sadan.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union ministers JP Nadda and Kiren Rijiju, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi were among those present.Meanwhile, school students and artists performed devotional bhajans during the prayer meeting. Vice President CP Radhakrishnan also attended the programme and paid floral tributes to Gandhi, remembering his role in India's freedom movement and his message of harmony and social upliftment.

Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, Gujarat. His birth anniversary is observed as Gandhi Jayanti, while the United Nations observes October 2 as the International Day of Non-Violence.Shastri was born on October 2, 1904, in Mughalsarai, Uttar Pradesh, and served as prime minister from 1964 to 1966. He is remembered for the slogan “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan” and his emphasis on self-reliance and the agricultural sector.