Remembering his father, Rajiv Gandhi, on his 27th death anniversary, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said that the former prime minister had taught him “hate is a prison for those who carry it”.
“My father taught me that hate is a prison for those who carry it. Today, on his death anniversary, I thank him for teaching me to love and respect all beings, the most valuable gifts a father can give a son. Rajiv Gandhi, those of us that love you hold you forever in our hearts,” he said in a tweet.
Early in the morning, Rahul Gandhi, his mother Sonia Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra paid tribute to Rajiv Gandhi at his memorial in Delhi.
Former president Pranab Mukherjee also paid homage to the former prime minister.
Several other senior Congress leaders, including former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Sushil Kumar Shinde, Mallikarjun Kharge, were also present at the memorial.
Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in 1991 by a woman operative of the separatist Lankan Tamil outfit LTTE, who greeted him at a rally in Tamil Nadu’s Sriperumbudur town with a bomb strapped to her chest.
Prasanta Patnaik