India, Feb. 24 -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday lauded the unveiling of Chakravarti Rajagopalachari's bust at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, where the bust of British architect Edwin Lutyens previously stood, calling it an "important act of mental decolonisation" in a message conveyed during the first-ever Rajaji Utsav celebration at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre.

"Every act that frees our nation from a colonial approach economically, culturally, and mentally is a tribute to leaders like Rajaji," said the Prime Minister in the message read out by culture and tourism minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in his absence. He had mentioned this in his monthly Mann ki Baat on Sunday.

C Rajagopalachari, commonly known as Rajaji, was a ...