New Delhi, March 23 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday paid tributes to veteran socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia, saying he had left a "deep impact" on Indian politics.

"On his birth anniversary, I pay my tributes to Ram Manohar Lohia, a thinker par excellence who left a deep impact on Indian politics," Modi said about the man who propounded in 1963 "Anti-Congressism" which four years later led to the Congress party's defeat in many parts of India.

"Among many other things, Lohia's commitment towards cleanliness continues to inspire us," Modi said in a brief message.

Born on March 23, 1910 in Uttar Pradesh, Lohia was a freedom fighter, a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi, an admirer-turned-critic of Jawaharlal Nehru and the best known leader of the country's socialist movement.

Lohia, who never married and left no property or bank balance when he died on October 12, 1967, was repeatedly jailed and tortured during India's freedom struggle.

Lohia was known for his antipathy to English and private schools. He promoted lower castes in the socialist parties he headed. And although a socialist, he hated communism as much he despised capitalism.