Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra paid tribute to their father and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 30th death anniversay on Friday.
The former prime minister was assassinated by a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) suicide bomber on 21 May, 1991 during an election campaign in Tamil Nadu’s Sriperumbudur town. Today is his 30th death anniversary.
Earlier in the day, Rahul also paid homage to his father at the memorial Veer Bhumi in New Delhi. The Congress party tweeted a video of the same on its Twitter handle.
Shri @RahulGandhi pays homage to his father, the former Prime Minister of India, Bharat Ratna Shri Rajiv Gandhi ji.#RememberingRajivGandhi pic.twitter.com/Qd1h43nzwq
— Congress (@INCIndia) May 21, 2021
Rahul also shared an image of his father with the caption “Truth, Compassion, Progress”, on his personal Twitter handle.
Truth, Compassion, Progress. #RememberingRajivGandhi pic.twitter.com/UbAqJ3zV2M
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 21, 2021
The former prime minister’s daughter Priyanka also shared a photo of her father on the microblogging site saying: “There is no greater strength than love, no greater courage than kindness, no greater power than compassion and no greater teacher than humility.”
There is no greater strength than love, no greater courage than kindness, no greater power than compassion and no greater teacher than humility.#RememberingRajivGandhi pic.twitter.com/CPJZDCcl5R
— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) May 21, 2021
The Congress party also paid tribute to the fomer prime minister, higlighting some of the principles he stood for.
“A visionary who understood where the world was heading, Shri Rajiv Gandhi steered India accordingly so that one day she could lead the world like she is destined to,” the party said in a tweet.
He stood for truth, love & compassion.
He believed in the power of our people.
He upheld the core values of our great nation.
He envisaged an India amongst the world’s best.
We pay our heartfelt tribute to our youngest PM, Bharat Ratna Shri Rajiv Gandhi. #RememberingRajivGandhi pic.twitter.com/3hKsHe58Fn
— Congress (@INCIndia) May 21, 2021
A visionary who understood where the world was heading, Shri Rajiv Gandhi steered India accordingly so that one day she could lead the world like she is destined to.
Today as we find ourselves amongst the world’s greatest, we pay our respects to Rajiv ji. #RememberingRajivGandhi pic.twitter.com/Hmv8zmx2zS
— Congress (@INCIndia) May 21, 2021
Besides Rahul and Priyanka, several other leaders from Congress also paid tribute to Rajiv Gandhi on his 30th death anniversary.
At Rajiv Gandhi Memorial, Sriperumbudur. Beautifully conceived, profoundly moving reminder of what we lost 22yrs ago pic.twitter.com/IXkIa1qqTI
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) May 30, 2013
देश के पूर्व प्रधानमंत्री, भारत रत्न स्व. श्री राजीव गांधी जी की पुण्यतिथि पर उन्हें शत-शत नमन। #RememberingRajivGandhi pic.twitter.com/tdfu6EFf6T
— Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) May 21, 2021
30 years ago today, India’s youngest Prime Minister’s life was cut short by terrorists.
His dreams, vision & legacy still live on in our hearts & minds.#RememberingRajivGandhi#RajivGandhi pic.twitter.com/gNdrhSpWAT
— Milind Deora | मिलिंद देवरा ☮️ (@milinddeora) May 21, 2021
My tributes to our Former Prime Minister #RajivGandhi ji,the pioneer of modern India, on his death anniversary. pic.twitter.com/SvWvsXPVoD
— Revanth Reddy (@revanth_anumula) May 21, 2021
India witnessed some major breakthroughs under former PM Sh.#RajivGandhi’s leadership, from inspiring the IT revolution to strengthening Panchayati Raj institutions & empowering leaders from grassroots. Honouring the iconic leader on his death anniversary.#RememberingRajivGandhi pic.twitter.com/zmFfwHdb0a
— Manish Chatrath (@ChatrathM) May 21, 2021
National President of the Indian Youth Congress, Srinivas BV said that without Rajiv Gandhi’s vision of progress, India would not have been the same. The Youth Congress leader caled Rajiv Gandhi the true architect of modern India.
Bihar’s leader of opposition and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav also paid his “sincere and humble tribute” to the former Prime Minister.
Sincere and humble tributes to former Prime Minister Sh. #RajivGandhi ji.#RememberingRajivGandhi
— Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) May 21, 2021
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal also paid tribute to Rajiv Gandhi on his death anniversary.
Remembering former Prime Minister Shri Rajiv Gandhi ji on his death anniversary.
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) May 21, 2021
Paying respect, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar shared a picture of Rajiv Gandhi along with a message, appreciating his efforts in making India technologically advanced. He said:
राजीव गांधी यांनी पंतप्रधानपदाच्या कार्यकाळात तंत्रज्ञान विकासात पुढाकार घेतला. भारतात संगणक क्रांती आणण्याचं व पंचायतीराज व्यवस्थेचा पाया रचण्याचं श्रेय त्यांना जातं. नव्या भारताच्या निर्मितीचे स्वप्न पाहणारे माजी पंतप्रधान स्व. राजीव गांधी यांना स्मृतिदिनी विनम्र अभिवादन! pic.twitter.com/ZuvsnSVuKP
— Sharad Pawar (@PawarSpeaks) May 21, 2021
#RememberingRajivGandhi
A rare still from the first ever 45 min candid interview I hosted for DD (26/02/1985)w Rajiv Gandhi. The all woman panel of 5 had well known artists and academics.The focus was on India’s women and RG’s dreams for a vibrant, inclusive, modern India. pic.twitter.com/18h7vM0TqO
— Mrinal Pande (@MrinalPande1) May 21, 2021
Rajiv Gandhi took over as Congress president in 1984 after the assassination of his mother (and then prime minister) Indira Gandhi. At the age of 40, he became India’s youngest prime minister to take charge of office.
After becoming the Prime Minister of India, between 1984 and 1989, Rajiv Gandhi took several initiatives.
He is credited with strengthening the Panchayati Raj system in India and for inspiring a telecom and information technology revolution in the country.