Raipur, July 9 (UNI) The Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha today paid rich tributes to former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar, saying that the socialist veteran was known for his courage of conviction and sticking to principles.

As soon as the house assembled on the first day of the monsoon session, Speaker Prem Prakash Pandey made obituary references of former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar and two former legislators of undivided Madhya Pradesh, who passed away during the inter-session period.

Paying homage to the departed Socialist leader, Chief Minister Raman Singh said Mr Chandra Shekhar had the courage to stick to his principles and he always swam against the tide. He also recalled the famous Kanyakumari to Kashmir Padyatra undertaken by the veteran leader.

Leader of the Opposition Mahendra Karma said Chandra Shekhar knew the pulse of the common masses while Novil Kumar Verma (NCP), Dharamjit Singh (Congress) and Ms Kamda Jhole (BSP) also paid tributes to the departed leaders.

Ramchandra Singhdeo (Congress) recalled his long association with Chandra Shekhar since college days saying that the socialist leader had kept himself aloof from caste and communal politics.

''Even after such a long stint in public life, people never knew as to which caste Chandra Shekhar belonged to'', he said, adding many even thought that he was a South Indian.

The house also paid homage to former legislators Vishwaraj Singh and Hiraram Verma, who were members of the Vidhan Sabha of undivided Madhya Pradesh.

The house also observed two minute silence as a mark of respect to the departed leaders and adjourned for the day.

UNI