The Congress party will observe the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who was assassinated in a suicide bomb attack on May 21, 1991, across the country on Tuesday wherein commemorative programmes at block level will be orgsed highlighting his contributions.
"Rajiv Gandhi got martyred on May 21, 1991, and the nation observes the day as Anti-Terrorism Day. In his five years of rule from 1984 to 1989, Rajiv Gandhi made exemplary efforts to take the country to the 21st century," said KC Venugopal, General Secretary in his communique to all Pradesh Congress Committees (PCC), AICC in-charges and others.
"He laid the foundation of modern India and left an imprint of modernity. Rajiv Gandhi is hailed as 'father of information technology and telecom revolution of India' and rightfully known as the architect of 'Digital India," said Venugopal.
"...The youths and coming generations of the nation need to know the unparallel and unique contributions made by Rajiv Gandhi. In this context, the Congress party has decided to observe the death anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi across the country for highlighting the visions and missions of one of the most venerated political figures the country has ever produced. In this regard, all PCCs are requested to hold commemorative programs with maximum publicity up to the block level on May 21st highlighting the contributions of Rajiv Gandhi," reads the letter.
Recently, political slugfest erupted when Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his election campaign referred to Rajiv Gandhi as 'Bhrashtachari No 1."
Prime Minister Modi, while addressing a rally in Uttar Pradesh on May 4, had said, "Your (Rahul Gandhi) father (Rajiv Gandhi) was termed 'Mr Clean' by his courtiers, but his life ended as 'Bhrashtachari No 1."