New Delhi, Dec 9 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday wished Congress President Sonia Gandhi on her 70th birthday.

"Birthday greetings to Congress President... I pray for her long life and good health," Modi said in a tweet.

The Congress party also wished Gandhi. "Compassionate, hardworking, selfless. Calm and composed, yet dignified and strong. A force for empowerment against all odds."

"A mother, a leader, a friend. Wishing Congress President Sonia Gandhi a very happy birthday," a tweet from Congress' official account said.

She was born Sonia Maino to Stefano and Paola Maino on this day in 1946 in a small village near Vicenza, Italy.

She married Rajiv Gandhi in 1968. She took up Indian citizenship and began living with her mother-in-law, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, at the latter's New Delhi residence.

She stepped in as the party President in 1998, seven years after her husband's assassination. She has remained in office since.