Prayagraj: The City Congress Committee members celebrated the 78th birthday of former Union Minister, noted educationist, and Chairman of the prestigious New Delhi-based Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management and Technology, Shri Anil Shastri, with great enthusiasm. Addressing a function organized at the party office in Chowk under the chairmanship of City Congress President Fuzail Hashmi, former spokesperson of the UP Congress Committee Kishore Varshney said that Shri Anil Shastri is widely known in the Congress for his sincerty and integrity. He possesses a remarkable spirit of service, simplicity, dignity, and humility, inherited from his rich family values and traditions. Despite holding high positions, he remains extremely humble, honest, and continues to lead the life of an ordinary citizen, Varshney added. On the occasion, 78 kilograms of Motichoor laddoos were distributed among party workers and local markets.
Earlier in the morning, special prayers and worship were offered at the Bade Hanuman Temple at Sangam for Shastri’s long life and good health. Subsequently, food packets were distributed among 78 poorer present there. Congress workers also distributed fruits and sweets among patients in various hospitals, as well old-age homes and orphanages.
It is noteworthy that the Shastri family shares a deep and traditional connection with Allahabad (Prayagraj). Anil Shastri’s father, former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, represented Allahabad in the Lok Sabha in 1957 and 1962. Following his demise in 1966, his eldest brother Harikishan Shastri served as Member of Parliament from 1967 to 1970. After the resignation of megastar Amitabh Bachchan, his younger brother Sunil Shastri contested the 1988 by-election from Allahabad.
Anil Shastri himself contested the 1991 Lok Sabha election from Allahabad constituency, while his eldest son Adarsh Shastri also contested the parliamentary election from Allahabad in 2014. UP Congress Committee ex. spokesperson Kishore Varshney, Coordinator Harikesh Tripathi, Corporator Zia Ubaid, Parvez Siddiqui, Anoop Tripathi, Sushmita Yadav, Manas Shukla, Nayan Kushwaha, Afrooz Ahmad, Rakesh Srivastava, Dr. A.D. Dubey, Sartaz Mohammad, Anil Srivastava, spokesperson Shahnawaz Qureshi, Ram Manorath Saroj, Ishtiyaq Ahmad, Ajay Srivastava, Dr. Anil Gaur, Pratima Tripathi, Tabrez Ahmad, Pradeep Dwivedi, Nafees Qureshi, Rajkumar Shukla, Ahmadullah, Kameshwar Sonkar, Mohd. Javed, Keshav Pasi, Kamal Ali, Rakesh Patel, Rizwana Begum, Sachin Kushwaha, Nasreen Bano, Dheeraj Vishwakarma, and several other Congress workers.
