NEW DELHI: Former Prime Minister Morarji Desai was honored by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, on his birth anniversary.

Morarji Desai put forth a lot of effort to make India more affluent, Prime Minster said.

The Prime Minister said in a tweet: "I pay my respects to Shri Morarjibhai Desai, our former Prime Minister. He is well-known for his significant contribution to nation-building. He went to great lengths to make India more prosperous. In public life, he was continually emphasizing the importance of honesty." Desai, the country's first non-Congress prime minister, was born in Valsad on February 29, 1896.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, paid tribute to Desai on Twitter, saying, "Morarji Desai ji, India's independence fighter and former Prime Minister, dedicated his life to the nation's and society's welfare. He made numerous inventive and creative initiatives to empower the disadvantaged sections of society while providing a new direction for the country's development."

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