PM Modi, Rahul Gandhi, and Others Pay Tribute to Rajiv Gandhi on His 80th Birth Anniversary

Rajiv Gandhi Birth Anniversary: On the 80th birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid his tribute, confessing to Gandhi’s legacy in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

PM Modi Leads Nation in Remembering Rajiv Gandhi’s Legacy

Tributes to our former Prime Minister Shri Rajiv Gandhi Ji on his birth anniversary.— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 20, 2024

“Tributes to our former Prime Minister Shri Rajiv Gandhi Ji on his birth anniversary,” Modi said while highlighting the relevance of the day.

Rahul Gandhi Pays Floral Tribute at Veer Bhumi

#WATCH | Congress leader Rahul Gandhi pays floral tribute to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his birth anniversary, at Veer Bhumi pic.twitter.com/wKpDPotBen— ANI (@ANI) August 20, 2024

The day also saw tributes by Congress leaders. The prominent Congress leader and late Rajiv Gandhi’s son, Rahul Gandhi, paid floral tributes at Veer Bhumi, the memorial for his father. This gesture was both a personal and political tribute for what Rajiv Gandhi did for India.

Kharge Honors Rajiv Gandhi’s Role in India’s Modernization

आज देश सद्भावना दिवस मना रहा है। पूर्व प्रधानमंत्री, राजीव गाँधी, भारत के महान सपूत थे। उन्होंने करोड़ों भारतीयों में आशा की किरण जगाई और अपने अभूतपूर्व योगदान से भारत को 21वीं सदी में पहुँचा दिया। मतदान की आयु घटाकर 18 वर्ष करना, पंचायती राज को मजबूत करना, दूरसंचार और आईटी… pic.twitter.com/12nzfkSV9v— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) August 20, 2024

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge took part in the remembrance underlining Rajiv Gandhi’s contribution towards modernizing India. Kharge Tweeted, “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 with his unprecedented contribution, he brought India into the 21st century.”

He added, “His many notable initiatives like lowering of voting age to 18 years, strengthening of Panchayati Raj, telecom and IT revolution, computerisation programmes, continuing peace accords, women empowerment, universal immunisation programme and new education policy with emphasis on inclusive education brought about transformational changes in the country. We pay heartfelt tribute to Bharat Ratna, Rajiv Gandhi ji on his birth anniversary.”

Jairam Ramesh Reflects on Rajiv Gandhi’s Short but Impactful Political Career

Today is Rajiv Gandhi@80.His was a short but very consequential political life.The March 1985 Budget in which he played a key role heralded a new approach to economic policy. The manifesto for the 1991 Lok Sabha elections, on which he spent long hours a few weeks before his… pic.twitter.com/yHu97ZagSs— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) August 20, 2024

It is precisely due to this reason that Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh looked back at Rajiv Gandhi’s impactful yet brief political career. Ramesh said in a tweet that, “Today is Rajiv Gandhi@80. His was a short but very consequential political life.”

He added, “The March 1985 Budget in which he played a key role heralded a new approach to economic policy. The manifesto for the 1991 Lok Sabha elections, on which he spent long hours a few weeks before his tragic assassination, provided the foundations for the Rao-Manmohan Singh reforms of June-July 1991. 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 further said, “He had a vision for societal applications of science and technology that were reflected in the impactful technology missions in drinking water supply, immunization, literacy, oilseeds production and telecom and dairy development. In 1985, 165,000 villages had been identified as not having easy access to any potable water source. By 1989, 162,000 villages of these villages had been provided with at least one safe source of drinking water. Facilities to manufacture the oral polio vaccine were set up.”

Jairam Continued, “The first direct steps to making India a software export powerhouse were taken during his tenure. Institutions that are now doing the country proud, like C-DAC, were established in the late 1980s. Financial institutions like the National Housing Bank and the Small Industries Development Bank of India came into being. 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.”

He conclude, “Article 243 of our Constitution is a tribute to his fierce commitment to empowering elected panchayats and nagarpalikas. 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.”

The Rise of Rajiv Gandhi

In 1984, following the assassination of his mother, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi assumed the Congress Party leadership and became India’s youngest Prime Minister at 40. It was during his tenure that many political and technological developments were made. On May 21, 1991, he was brutally blown up by a LTTE suicide bomber during one of his election campaigns at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu.
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