New Delhi: Congress leaders on Sunday paid tributes to former Prime Minister and Bharat Ratna Rajiv Gandhi on his 32nd death anniversary, recalling his contributions to the country.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, who paid floral tributes to the former Prime Minister at Veer Bhoomi here, took to Twitter and wrote, “Rajiv Gandhi was a great son of India. Through multiple interventions such as lowering of voting age, strengthening the Panchayati Raj, Telecom and IT revolution, and sustaining peace accords – he transformed India, propelling it in the 21st century. Our humble homage on his martyrdom day.”
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, “One of the last major accomplishments of Rajiv Gandhi before his assassination on this day, 32 years ago, was the finalisation of the Congress party’s manifesto for the 1991 Lok Sabha elections. He spent many hours on it. In July 1991, when Dr. Manmohan Singh as FM was criticised for ushering in economic reforms, he would quote frequently from this manifesto, which in many ways bore Rajiv Gandhi’s personal imprint.”
“His contributions to taking India into the IT age were also distinctive contributions. He wooed GE and Texas Instruments to kickstart software exports. As also his battle for giving Constitutional status to panchayats and nagarpalikas – a truly transformational move,” Ramesh added.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who is the daughter of Rajiv Gandhi, also paid floral tributes at the Veer Bhoomi here.
She tweeted the lines of ‘Iss Paar, Uss Paar’ poem by noted author Haribansh Rai Bachchan to remember her father. She also attached a picture of her father along with Sonia Gandhi.
Earlier in the day, Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi, party leader Rahul Gandhi paid floral tributes to the former Prime Minister at Veer Bhoomi here.
Rajiv Gandhi was born on August 20, 1944, and he represented Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi parliamentary constituency four times.
A recipient of Bharat Ratna, Rajiv Gandhi served as the sixth Prime Minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the assassination of his mother, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984.
Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) suicide bomber during an election rally in Tamil Nadu’s Sriperumbudur on May 21, 1991. He was cremated at Veer Bhumi, located on the banks of the river Yamuna.
His death anniversary is observed as National Anti-Terrorism Day. He was the youngest Prime Minister of India at the age of 40.
