New Delhi : President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday hailed the nation for declaring "over 1.4 lakh villages, 450 cities, 77 districts and three states as open defecation free".

"My government salutes the strength of the janashakti (peoples' power) to constructively utilise Rashtra Nirman (nation building)," Mukherjee said while addressing the joint session of Parliament on the first day of the Budget Session. IANS