Modi pays tributes to Jagjivan Ram

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday paid tributes to former deputy prime minister Jagjivan Ram, a foremost Dalit leader of his time, and said the nation will always remember his ''remarkable'' contribution during the freedom movement and after Independence.

Born in Bihar in 1908, Ram was a freedom fighter and served as a minister in governments led by Jawaharlal Nehru and later India Gandhi.

He quit the Congress to protest against Emergency and served as a deputy prime minister in the Janata Party government.

Modi tweeted, ''Tributes to Babu Jagjivan Ram Ji on his birth anniversary. Our nation will always remember his remarkable contribution be it during the freedom movement or after Independence. He was widely admired for his administrative skills and concern for the poor.'