Narendra Modi pays homage to Morarji Desai on 126th birth anniversary, lauds him for nation building skills

Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid homage to Morarji Desai on his 126th birth anniversary today, 28 February. Taking to his social media handle, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the former prime minister for his monumental contribution to nation building. Further in his tweet, Prime Minister Modi mentioned that Morarji Desai always emphasised on probity or righteousness in public life.

I pay homage to our former PM Shri Morarjibhai Desai. He is widely respected for his monumental contribution to nation building. He made extensive efforts to make India more prosperous. He always emphasised on probity in public life.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 28, 2022

Who was Morarji Desai?  Born in 1896 in Valsad, then part of Bombay and now in Gujarat, Desai played a significant role in the freedom struggle movement. Notably, he was the first non-Congress prime minister of the nation. Between 1977 and 1979, Desai served as the fourth prime minister of India and led the government formed by the Janata Party. He had succeeded Indira Gandhi, the only female prime minister of India. Few interesting facts about the first non-Congress prime minister: - Even before India got its independence from the British rule, Desai became Bombay’s home minister. Later in 1952, he was elected as the chief minister of Bombay (state). - Desai worked as a home minister during Jawahar Lal Nehru’s tenure as well as a deputy prime minister and finance minister in Indira Gandhi’s government. - When Indira Gandhi later took away the finance portfolio from Desai, the latter resigned from his post and formed Indian National Congress (Organisation) which was also called Syndicate. Interestingly, Indira Gandhi’s group Indian National Congress (INC) which was then in power was known as Indicate. - For supporting the Nav Nirman movement of Gujarat, Desai also went for an indefinite hunger strike. - On 24 March, 1977, Desai was sworn in as the fourth Prime Minister of India. He was the first non-Congress to hold such an esteemed post. - A record which Desai still holds is the world’s oldest person to become a prime minister. He was 81 years old then. - Desai breathed his last on 10 April, 1995.