In a veiled attack at the Bharatiya Janata Party, which has registered resounding victory in Assam replacing 15-year-old Congress government, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday said people practicing the politics of hatred and terror must have deprived them of political power, but they can't take away from them the ideologies of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.
"People practicing the politics of hatred and terror must have deprived us of political power, but they can't take away ideologies of Rajiv Gandhi from us," said Sonia.
She was speaking at the 25th death anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi at Indira Gandhi stadium here.
"Rajiv is not amongst us, but somewhere in us. He will always reside within us forever. The steps taken by him have led India held its head high in the world," she said remembering her husband, who was assassinated in a suicide attack during an election rally at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu on May 21, 1991.
He brought the IT revolution and gave the power of voting to 18-year-old youths. Changes in politics and society that we boast of today were initiated by by Rajeev Gandhi, who wanted to transform the lives of the poor by the mean of science and technology," said Sonia, while recounting steps taken by the former prime minister for the welfare and empowerment of the people of the nation.
"Rajiv Gandhi also took important steps for ensuring peace in Assam, Mizoram and Darjeeling, and viewed India as a front runner in the world economics," she added.
Earlier in the day President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President Hamid Ansari, the Congress President Sonia Gandhi accompanied by son and party Vice President Rahul Gandhi, daughter Priyanka Gandhi and son-in-law Robert Vadra paid tributes to the late leader at his memorial, Veer Bhumi.
Senior party leaders including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ahmed Patel, Sushil Kumar Shinde, PC Chacko, Sheila Dikshit and DPCC President Ajay Maken, among others, also paid tributes to the former prime minister.
