Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday paid tributes to Bharatiya Jana Sangh co-founder Deen Dayal Upadhyay on his 103rd birth anniversary and recalled his efforts to uplift the weaker sections of the society.
Naidu described Upadhyay as a visionary, a great intellectual and an inspiring personality who worked relentlessly for the upliftment of people at the grassroot level.
Modi said Upadhyay is one of the greatest icons of India.
"His life's message of serving the most downtrodden with compassion resonates far and wide," the prime minister wrote on Twitter.
The prime minister also posted a short video of his speech on the Jan Sangh leader in which he described how upliftment of the poor was the focus of Upadhyay's philosophy.
Upadhyaya was born in 1916 in Mathura.