Nation celebrates birth anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri

The nation celebrates the 140th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and 105th birth anniversary of India's second Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on Friday.

Special prayers are being held at Raj ghat to commemorate the father of the nation.

On this occasion the Centre's flagship National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) will be named after Mahatma Gandhi.

Lal Bahadur was born in 2nd October 1904 in Mughal Sarai in Uttar Pradesh.

Shastri was known for honesty and humility. After hearing a speech of Mahatma Gandhi at Varanasi in 1915, he dedicated his life to the service of the country.