New Delhi: Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi has a week-long plan — he will share one ‘incredible achievement’ a day of his father, late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, to commemorate the latter’s 75th birth anniversary.
“This week we will celebrate my father, Rajiv Gandhi Ji’s 75th birth anniversary with memorial events across India,” Rahul tweeted Monday. “To honour him, each day this week, I will draw attention to one of his many incredible achievements. Today, the Information Technology revolution”.
This week we will celebrate my father, Rajiv Gandhi Ji's 75th birth anniversary with memorial events across India.
To honour him, each day this week, I will draw attention to one of his many incredible achievements. Today, the Information Technology revolution. #RajivGandhi75 pic.twitter.com/qBjIfTVRkj
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 19, 2019
The move comes at a time when the Modi government has been attacking the Nehru-Gandhi family, blaming its members for many “omissions and commissions” in the past — Jawaharlal Nehru for Article 370, Indira Gandhi for the Emergency, and Rajiv Gandhi for “doing injustice” to Muslim women by reversing the Supreme Court ruling in the Shah Bano case.
Rajiv, who was born on 20 August 1944, was assassinated on 21 May 1991 (celebrated as anti-terrorism day). He would have turned 75 this year.
Also read: Rajiv Gandhi – the ‘unwilling’ PM who laid the foundation of a modern India
Rahul posts video
Rahul’s twitter post was accompanied by a 55-second video that highlights the way in which Rajiv brought about an IT revolution in India.
The seeds of the IT revolutions “were sown in 1985 under the leadership of Congress leader Rajiv Gandhi”, according to the video. “He completely digitised telephone exchanges and introduced PCOs,” it adds.
Apart from this, Rajiv, the youngest PM of India, is also credited with setting the stage for liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation reforms. He was also instrumental in passing the 61st amendment of the Constitution that lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 and tried to modernise education through the introduction of National Policy on Education, the video says.
Celebrations across the country
The Congress has planned memorial events across the country to celebrate Rajiv’s birth anniversary.
“In Jharkhand, we have planned a run at 6:30 in the morning on 20 August,” Jharkhand in-charge R.P.N. Singh told ThePrint. “This will be followed by day-long events and end with bhajans (hymns) in honour of the late PM.”
Similar events are planned in Chhattisgarh and Delhi, respective in-charges P.L. Punia and P.C. Chacko said with Delhi is making special arrangements for women attending the events.
On 20 August, each state and union territory will individually pay tribute to the former PM, followed by a grand ceremony in Talkatora Stadium on 22 August. The latter will be attended by Congress leaders from all over the country.
Also read: I felt very strongly that Rajiv Gandhi was not corrupt: B. Raman on the Bofors scandal