Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Wednesday said politicians of old had a vision, mission and willingness to serve the country as opposed to contemporary politicians who are in politics only for making money.
Delivering his lecture at the Lalit Narayan Mishra Memorial Lecture Series in the capital, Azad said secularism has taken a backseat as politics based on the identity of caste and religion has taken the front seat.
The lecture was organized at the Constitution Club, New Delhi on the 99th birth anniversary of late Lalit Narayan Mishra, former Union Railway Minister.
Azad also paid tributes to martyrs Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru for their sacrifice for the nation. The martyrdom anniversary of the freedom fighters was on Wednesday (March 23).
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In the backdrop of the delay in the Lalit Narayan Mishra assassination case, Azad condoned the delay in the justice delivery system in Delhi. He said there should be no delay in getting justice and there is need to work towards it.
In 1975, while being a railway minister, Mishra had arrived at the Samastipur Railway Station, Bihar to inaugurate a railway line.
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In the evening as soon as he finished his speech and was to step down from the dais, Mishra was killed when grenades thrown at the dais exploded.
On this occasion, Senior Advocate Pradeep Rai, the Vice President of the Supreme Court Bar Association, highlighted the contributions of Lalit Narayan Mishra in the railway sector.
Rai said that no work, no pay has been given by Mishra to the railway.
On Ghulam Nabi Azad, Rai said that he is a real secular leader and a person who truly deserved the Padma Bhushan, which he was confererd with on Tuesday (March 22).
Rajya Sabha MP and Senior Advocate Vivek Tankha spoke on the importance of cherishing human values rather than labelling someone by their religion or caste.
Former Supreme Court judge Shiva Kirti Singh, Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh were among the dignitaries at the event.