Narendra Modi pays tribute to Lal Bahadur Shastri on 52nd death anniversary, hails ex-PM's 'courageous leadership'

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday paid tribute to former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on his 52nd death anniversary saying he will be remembered for his courageous leadership. “We pay homage to Shastriji on his punya tithi (death anniversary). His impeccable service and courageous leadership will be remembered for generations to come,” Modi said in a tweet.

We pay homage to Shastri Ji on his Punya Tithi. His impeccable service and courageous leadership will be remembered for generations to come.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 11, 2018

[caption id=“attachment_4296029” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. AP[/caption] Shastri was born in Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh to Sharada Prasad and Ramdulari Devi on 2 October, 1904. On 11 January, 1966, he breathed his last in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, a day after signing the Tashkent Declaration, reportedly due to cardiac arrest. Shastri was the first person to be posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award in 1966.