CM, Maken slam Modi for not paying homage to Shastri

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for ignoring late Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, whose birth anniversary coincides with Mahatma Gandhi’s on October 2.

After paying tributes to Gandhi and Shastri, Kejriwal posted a series of tweets, criticising Modi for not visiting Shastri’s memorial at Vijay Ghat.

Delhi Congress also <g data-gr-id="27">criticized</g> Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “not paying” homage to former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri at Vijay Ghat on his 111th birth anniversary and termed it as “unfortunate”.

“Shastri was the Prime Minister of the country and not of any party. What might have been the problem for the Prime Minister to go to Vijay Ghat where president, vice-president as also Congress chief paid homage to Shastri.” Ajay Maken said. “It is unfortunate that Modi did not pay homage to Shastriji at Vijay Ghat which is very close to Raj Ghat where he paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi early on Friday,” Maken told reporters. He also accused the Central government of stopping funding for the celebration of Shastri’s birth anniversary. Shastri became India’s second Prime Minister after Jawaharlal Nehru’s death in 1964.

“I urge the Central government to celebrate the birthday of Shastriji officially like that of Gandhi’s,” said Kejriwal.

“When I went to pay tribute to him (Shastri) I found out that from this year Centre has stopped giving money to celebrate Shastri’s birthday,” Kejriwal said in a succession of tweets. “Then I got to know that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not visit his memorial. I feel that he should not be ignored,” tweeted the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief, calling the late Congress leader a symbol of honesty and simplicity.

Kejriwal urged the Centre to “officially” celebrate the birth anniversary of Lal Bahadur Shastri as they celebrate Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary.

Meanwhile, Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy speaker Vandana Kumari, Transport Minister Gopal Rai and a large number of dignitaries, freedom fighters and general public also paid their homage to Lal Bahadur Shastri at a function organised in Delhi Vidhan Sabha.