Rajiv Gandhi birth anniversary: Rahul says: 'Papa, aap hamare saath har pal hain'

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra paid warm tributes to their father Rajiv Gandhi on his 78th birth anniversary. Gandhi was the seventh Prime Minister of India and held office from 1984 to 1989. He was killed in 1991 in a suicide bomb attack in Tamil Nadu’s Sriperumbudur. Paying a tribute to his father, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tweeted “Papa you are with me every moment, in my heart. I will always try that I can fulfill the dream you dreamed for the country.” He and his sister and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra paid floral tribute at their father’s memorial, Veer Bhumi, on Saturday. Rahul shared a warm video on the occasion showing some glimpses of Gandhi’s personal and political life.  

   

General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi also posted her tribute on Twitter, where she said: "My father Shri Rajiv Gandhi had laid the roadmap for 21st century India before the country. An India in which the power of the youth, the power of villages, the potential of women, the use of new technologies, finds expression." 

Gandhi was the youngest prime minister, and his single term from 1984 to 1989 is considered as the foundation of India’s IT revolution. The Congress party in a statement issued on the occasion said that Gandhi was the "architect of 21st century India" and that he played a major role in ensuring that Panchayats and Nagarpalikas got Constitutional status, with women getting 33% reservation at the grassroot level.  

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh glorified his achievements and said Gandhi should be remembered for bringing peace in the troubled regions of India, such as Assam, Punjab, Mizoram, and Darjeeling. 

He said Gandhi extraordinarily handled and took significant initiatives to resolve the long-standing issues of India with China and Pakistan, and submitted an action plan for universal and complete nuclear disarmament to the United Nations, which was a great vision at his time.  

Several other ministers and leaders tweeted their tributes remembering the former PM for his contribution to the development of the nation.