Rajiv Gandhi brought India to 21st century with unprecedented contribution: Cong

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Tuesday paid rich tributes to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 80th birth anniversary with party chief Mallikarjun Kharge saying that he ignited hope in crores of Indians and brought India to the 21st century with his "unprecedented contribution".

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi paid floral tributes to his father at his memorial Veer Bhumi here.

"A compassionate personality, a symbol of harmony and goodwill... Papa, your teachings are my inspiration and your dreams for India are my own, I will fulfil them taking your memories with me," Rahul Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X.

India's youngest prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi held office from 1984 to 1989.

He was assassinated by a suicide bomber of the LTTE in 1991.

In a post in Hindi on X, Kharge said today the country is celebrating 'Sadbhavana Diwas'.

"Former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was a great son of India. He ignited a ray of hope in crores of Indians and brought India to the 21st century with his unprecedented contribution," Kharge said.

"His many pleasant initiatives such as lowering the voting age to 18 years, strengthening Panchayati Raj, telecom and IT revolution, computerisation programme, peace accords, women empowerment, universal vaccination programme and new education policy with emphasis on inclusive education brought about transformational changes in the country," the Congress chief said.

"We pay our heartfelt tributes to Bharat Ratna Rajiv Gandhi ji on his birth anniversary," he said.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said Rajiv Gandhi's was a short but very consequential political life.

The March 1985 budget in which he played a key role heralded a new approach to the economic policy, Ramesh said.

The manifesto for the 1991 Lok Sabha elections, on which Rajiv Gandhi spent long hours a few weeks before his tragic assassination, provided the foundations for the Rao-Manmohan Singh reforms of June-July 1991, he said.

"Peace accords in troubled regions of the country like Assam, Punjab, Mizoram and Tripura were made possible by his statesmanship that put national interest over the immediate interests of his party," he said.

"He (Gandhi) had a vision for societal applications of science and technology that were reflected in the impactful technology missions in drinking water supply, immunisation, literacy, oilseeds production and telecom and dairy development," Ramesh said.

In 1985, 1,65,000 villages that did not have easy access to any potable water source were identified and by 1989, 1,62,000 of these villages had been provided with at least one safe source of drinking water, he said.

Facilities to manufacture the oral polio vaccine were set up, he recalled.

The first direct steps to make India a software export powerhouse were taken during Rajiv Gandhi's tenure, Ramesh said.

Institutions that are now doing the country proud, like C-DAC, were established in the late 1980s and financial institutions like the National Housing Bank and the Small Industries Development Bank of India came into being, the Congress leader pointed out.

"The New Education Policy of 1986, anchored in progressive values, bore his personal imprint. Today's Navodaya Vidyalayas emerged from this initiative.

"The voting age was reduced to 18 years and Swami Vivekananda's birthday was declared as National Youth Day," Ramesh said.

Article 243 of the Constitution is a tribute to Rajiv Gandhi's fierce commitment to empowering elected panchayats and nagar palikas, he said.

"Today, we have over 3 million elected representatives in these institutions of self-government, of whom over 40% are women.

"We recall not just a Prime Minister today but also a very fine and caring human being who bore no malice, showed no vindictiveness, sought no revenge, indulged in no bombast and self-glory and exhibited no qualities of self-delusion," he added.

Congress general secretary, organisation, K C Venugopal also paid tributes to Rajiv Gandhi.

"Snatched away from us too soon, he was a visionary whose reforms prepared India for the 21st century. In a single tenure, he set an example for how India should be governed across fields, be it foreign policy, defence, economic reform, or deepening democracy," Venugopal said.

"His values will forever guide us in our actions and his absence will always be felt," he said.

The Congress, in a post of X, said, "Today, we pay tribute to the visionary leader and Bharat Ratna Shri Rajiv Gandhi ji, who ushered in an era of modern technology, women and youth empowerment."

"Rajiv Gandhi's commitment to constitutional values of secularism, unity and a progressive India continues to guide us in our dedication to building a prosperous and inclusive nation," the party said.