New Delhi, April 5: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday paid tributes to former deputy prime minister Jagjivan Ram on his birth anniversary and said his efforts to connect the deprived sections of society with the mainstream of development will always remain a source of inspiration. PM Narendra Modi Meets Bhutan King Jigme Wangchuk, Assures Support To Extend Credit Facility (See Pics).

Born in Bihar in 1908, Ram was a freedom fighter and served as a minister in governments led by former prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and India Gandhi. He quit the Congress to protest against the Emergency and served as a deputy prime minister in the Janata Party government.

"Respectful tributes to former deputy prime minister Babu Jagjivan Ram, a freedom fighter, on his birth anniversary," Modi said in a tweet in Hindi. "His efforts to connect the deprived sections of society with the mainstream of development will always remain a source of inspiration," the prime minister said.