Vice President hails ex-prez Kalam's contribution to the country

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday paid tributes to former president A P J Abdul Kalam on his death anniversary and said his stellar contribution strengthened India's defence and space capabilities.

The former president was a nuclear scientist, writer, poet, and educationist, who had excelled in different fields and served the nation till his demise on this day in 2015 at the age of 83.

Kalam was conferred with the Bharat Ratna for his contribution to nuclear science and came to be known as the people's president.

"My humble tributes to former President, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam on his Punya Tithi today. He was a distinguished scientist, a visionary statesman & above all a great human being," Naidu said on his official Twitter handle.

"His stellar contribution strengthened our defence & space capabilities," the vice president said.