New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, paid a heartfelt homage to his late father, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, on the 34th anniversary of his passing on Wednesday. He also vowed to carry on the dreams he left behind.
He claimed his father’s memory still guides him at every turn when he paid floral homage at Veer Bhumi in the nation’s capital.
“Papa, your memories guide me at every step,” Rahul Gandhi said in a post on the social networking site X. I’m determined to fulfill your unrealized ambitions, and I will undoubtedly do so.”
Senior Congress leaders, including Congress leader Sachin Pilot and party president Mallikarjun Kharge, joined LoP Rahul Gandhi at Veer Bhumi and offered floral tributes to the late leader.
पापा, आपकी यादें हर कदम पर मेरा मार्गदर्शन करती हैं।
आपके अधूरे सपनों को साकार करना ही मेरा संकल्प है – और मैं इन्हें पूरा करके रहूंगा। pic.twitter.com/jwptCSo1TN
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 21, 2025
Kharge wrote on X in remembrance of the former prime minister that Rajiv Gandhi was “a great son of India” whose innovative policies helped to mold the nation’s course into the twenty-first century.
A beloved son of India, Rajiv Gandhi gave millions of Indians hope. His brave and imaginative actions played a crucial role in preparing India for the possibilities and challenges of the twenty-first century. These include creating a universal immunization program, lowering the voting age to 18, bolstering Panchayati Raj, leading the telecom and IT revolution, introducing a new education policy centered on inclusive learning, securing long-term peace accords, and putting in place a computerization program,” he said.
According to Sachin Pilot, Rajiv Gandhi was a visionary leader who guided India in a forward-thinking manner.
“On his ‘Balidan Diwas,’ I offer my sincere respects to former Prime Minister Shri Rajiv Gandhi ji. Rajiv Gandhi was a visionary leader who guided the nation by bringing a progressive perspective via his leadership and contemporary ideas. Pilot commented on X, “His choices elevated India to unprecedented heights.”
“His contribution is an inspiration to us and his memory will always live in our hearts,” he said.
In an homage to Rajiv Gandhi, the Congress Party wrote on X that his efforts to the creation of a modern India were “unforgettable.”
After his mother, then-prime minister Indira Gandhi, was assassinated in 1984, Rajiv Gandhi assumed leadership of the Congress. When he took office in October 1984, he was 40 years old and India’s youngest prime minister.
Up until December 2, 1989, he was India’s prime minister. Rajiv Gandhi, who was born on August 20, 1944, was killed on May 21, 1991, during an electoral rally in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, by a suicide bomber affiliated with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
