Vice President Naidu visits Mahatma Gandhi's birthplace in Guj, offers prayers at temples in Somnath, Dwarka

Outgoing Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday visited Mahatma Gandhi's birthplace in Gujarat's Porbandar and offered prayers at temples in Somnath and Dwarka during a day-long visit to the state.

His visit came on a day when election was held to elect the country's new Vice President.

Naidu and his wife Usha Naidu arrived at the Jamnagar Air Force Station in the morning and were received by Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat and Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.

The Naidus then left for Dwarka, where they offered prayers at Nageshwar Jyotirling temple and Dwarkadhish temple.

Later they visited the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi and 'Kirti Mandir', a memorial that stands adjacent to Gandhi's ancestral house, in Porbandar.

In his message in the visitors' book at the Kirti Mandir, the Vice President urged people to visit the place and take inspiration from Gandhi's life and ideals.

''I am very honoured and privileged to visit the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi. By showing the world the power of truth and non-violence as weapons of struggle against injustice, Gandhi ji left a lasting impact on humanity.

''I urge everyone, especially the young generation to visit this place and take inspiration from Gandhi ji's life and ideals,'' he wrote.

Naidu and his wife also visited Somnath and offered prayers at the famous Somnath temple . They also paid tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in Somnath before departing from Rajkot.

Gujarat Education Minister Jitu Vaghani was present at the Rajkot airport to bid farewell to the Vice President and his wife.

On Saturday evening, National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar was declared elected as the Vice President of India after he bagged 528 votes against his rival candidate Margaret Alva's 182.

Dhankhar, 71, will succeed M Venkaiah Naidu who demits office August 10.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)