No Union Minister attended Pandit Nehru's birth anniversary event: Congress

New Delhi: No ministers on Sunday attended the Jawaharlal Nehru birth anniversary event at Parliament, the Congress alleged. The Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and the Speaker of the Lok Sabha were also absent, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh tweeted, calling the situation "extraordinary". "Can it get more atrocious than this?" the Rajya Sabha MP said.

"Extraordinary scene today in Parliament at the traditional function to mark the birth anniversary of those whose portraits adorn the Central Hall. Speaker Lok Sabha absent. Chairman Rajya Sabha absent. Not a single Minister present. Can it get more atrocious than this?!" he tweeted.

Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and other leaders paid floral tributes to Jawaharlal Nehru on his birth anniversary at the Central Hall in Parliament.

Trinamool MP Derek O'Brien condemned the gesture and said nothing surprises him anymore. "This dispensation is destroying India's great institutions, including Parliament one day at a time," the MP tweeted.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tributes to Jawaharlal Nehru on his 132nd birth anniversary. "Tributes to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Ji on his birth anniversary," he tweeted.

On the occasion of Pandit Nehru's birthday, which is also celebrated as 'Children's Day' in remembrance of Nehru's love for children, many activities are organised throughout the country. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Sunday attended the Vidhan Sabha Children's Session organised by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (Rajasthan Branch).

Venkaiah Naidu, on the other hand, accompanied Union home minister Amit Shah as the minister visited a skill development centre in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh.