Daman: President A P J Abdul Kalam on December 1 said the country needs political leaders who are committed to alleviate the grief of the common man instead of pursuing "feats of power".

Reminding the students of the Coast Guard Public School that Mahatma Gandhi who fought for the country's independence for four decades was in Navkhali (the place of communal turmoil) when the national tri-colour was being unfurled on the ramparts of the Red Fort, Kalam said, "Today, everybody wants to hoist the flag."

Describing the Father of the Nation as a leader of nobility, the President said Gandhiji wanted to remove the pains of the common man and urged the younger generation to be a noble soul like the Mahatma.

The Defence Minister George Fernandes was also present on the occasion.

PTI