As the nation remembers Mahatma Gandhi on the occasion of his 146th birth anniversary – Gandhi Jayanti – on Friday, some believe that the coinciding 111th birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, another important figure in the Indian history, has been eclipsed by the former.

Fuelling the argument were the actions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was accused of disrespecting the eminent leader by many on social media, including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who said that it is "not okay".  

Modi, early in the day, gave a Twitter tribute to his predecessor Shastri. But, his absence from Vijay Ghat, Shastri&’s cremation ground, only a distance away from Gandhi’s resting place Rajghat, where Modi paid his respects to Gandhi, was duly noted.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who graced the occasion by paying tribute to Shastri at Vijay Ghat, claimed that during his visit to the site, he was informed that the "centre has stopped giving donation to celebrate Shastri&’s birthday from this year only."

“Later, I got to know that Narendra Modi did not attend the tribute. Such neglect is not okay,” he added, in Hindi, and urged the government to consider making Shastri&’s birthday an official celebration like Gandhi Jayanti.

Meanwhile, Delhi Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of IT, Adarsh Shastri, tweeted: "It is ironic that PM Modi could come to Rajghat #GandhiJayanti but not 200 meters away to Vijayghat #ShastriJayanti."

It did not help matters that Modi was scheduled to attend a rally in Bankam, in view of the coming Bihar elections on the same day, and many others took to Twitter to express their disappointment at Modi.

“Bihar election is the 1st priority of our PM now apart from foreign trips, governance & homages to legends can wait #ModiDisrespectsShastri,” tweeted one Vikash Purohit.

Although Modi revered “the proud son of India” and his “simplicity & integrity”, also mentioning Shastri Ji&’s clarion call “Jai Jawan Jai Kisan” on Twitter, his beautiful words were not enough to make up for the fact that he missed giving Shastri a deserving tribute. 

Some claimed that he only followed an age-old tradition set by his opposition Congress party.

“It&’s been a tradition to forget #Shastri ji. Congress started it and #RSS agents r (are) following it, #ModiDisrespectsShastri,” tweeted one Saurabh.

However, Modi’s error was singled out due to the fact that he was the first prime minister to refrain from paying respects to the Indian leader.

Manjeet S Saroya, secretary of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, tweeted: "Today, Modi did not go to VijayGhat to pay Respects to Lal Bahadur Shastri. For Last 50years, no PM has done this. #ModiDisrespectsShastri."

Not everyone made such blanket statements, most relying on sarcasm to express their dismay.

“PM Modi is the most-travelled prime minister in Indian history, (and yet he) cannot visit Vijay Ghat in Delhi,” quipped one Syed Maqbool, remarking on the irony that the globetrotting PM was unable to set out to the resting place of Shastri in the capital.

There were other references to his foreign trips, particularly the viral video of Modi shoving Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg aside for blocking the cameras in the recently concluded US visit.

“May I ask, wasn’t (weren’t there) enough cameras for PM to go (to) Vijay ghat? LOL. Why PM only responsible, it’s media too. #ModiDisrespectsShastri,” quipped one Deepak, ridiculing the apparently ‘limelight hogging’ PM and the media&’s negligence of Shastri.

Many highlighted the OROP issue and the mistreatment of farmers by the hands of the government, to comment upon Modi&’s attitude, drawing a behavioural pattern with respect to the ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisan’ preacher.

“First he forgot the farmers. Then had soldiers beaten with Batons. Now forgot the man who said Jai Jawan Jai Kisaan! #ModiDisrespectsShastri,” tweeted one Gaurav Pandhi.

“#ModiDisrespectsShastri Modi lathicharged Army Veterans fighting for #OROP and tried to pass Anti Farmers Land Bill four times,” wrote one Jayashree.