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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday paid tributes to freedom fighters and leaders from across the political spectrum for their contribution in the independence struggle and nation building, including former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Veer Savarkar, Ram Manohar Lohia and others.
Addressing the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the 76th Independence Day, Modi said the citizens of the country are grateful to Bapu (Mahatma Gandhi), Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Babasaheb Ambedkar and Veer Savarkar who spent their lives on the path of duty.
The nation is also grateful to Mangal Pandey, Tatya Tope, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Rajguru, Chandrashekhar Azad, Ashfaqulla Khan and Ram Prasad Bismil. Many such innumerable revolutionaries shook the foundation of the British rule, Modi said.
He said the citizens are proud of the strength of the women of India like Rani Laxmibai, Jhalkari Bai, Rani Chennamma, and Begum Hazrat Mahal. Indian women symbolise sacrifice and struggle, Modi said.
The country also salutes those who not only fought for its freedom, but also worked for nation building after Independence such as Jawaharlal Nehru, Ram Manohar Lohia and Sardar Vallabhai Patel among others, the prime minister said.
"India has been home to great thinkers like Vivekananda, Aurobindo and Rabindranath Tagore," he said.
Modi also paid tributes to Dr Rajendra Prasad, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Syama Prasad Mookerjee, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Deendayal Upadhyaya, Ram Manohar Lohia, Nanaji Deshmukh, Jayaprakash Narayan and Acharya Vinoda Bhave.
The Congress on Sunday took a strong exception to the exclusion of former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru in the Karnataka government's newspaper advertisement on freedom fighters and termed the Bharatiya Janata Party action 'pathetic'.