GORAKHPUR, March 7 -- Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday paid tribute to Govind Ballabh Pant (1887-1961), a revered freedom fighter and the first chief minister of the state, by garlanding his statue on the occasion of his death anniversary here.

Speaking at an event organised at Pant Park in Gorakhpur University, the CM highlighted the Bharat Ratna awardee's significant contributions as a member of the Constituent Assembly that drafted the Constitution.

Yogi praised Pant as a towering hero of India's freedom struggle, who made an indelible impact as a distinguished lawyer, a visionary administrator and a key architect of modern governance in Uttar Pradesh.

"Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant was not just a freedom fighter,...