Rahul Gandhi pays tribute to late father & former PM Rajiv Gandhi on his death anniversary

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi paid tribute to his father and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 29th death anniversary on Thursday, saying, "he is proud to be the son of a true patriot".

"I am proud to be the son of a true patriot, liberal and philanthropic father. As Prime Minister, Rajiv Ji has put the country on the path of progress. With his forward-looking empowerment, he has taken the necessary steps. Today on his death anniversary. I salute him with affection and gratitude," Rahul Gandhi tweeted in Hindi on his father and former prime minister's death anniversary.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also taken to Twitter to pay homage to Rajiv Gandhi.

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About Rajiv Gandhi

Rajiv Gandhi served as the sixth Prime Minister of India from 1984 to 1989 as he took charge of prime ministership after his mother and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's assassination. Having gone to the United Kingdom for studies and returning to India in 1966, Rajiv Gandhi had been a professional pilot for the state-owned Indian Airlines. In 1968, he married Sonia Gandhi, the current president of the Congress party and the United Progressive Alliance chairperson.

The couple had two children Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Rahul Gandhi served as the party chief and is a Member of Parliament. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is the AICC general secretary at present. Sonia Gandhi took charge of the Congress party and became the party president in the year 1998. She still heads the Congress party after the brief and ill-fated stint of Presidentship by Rahul Gandhi.

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Rajiv Gandhi entered the political arena after the demise of his brother Sanjay Gandhi in a plane crash in 1980. A year later, he marked his political success by winning his brother’s Parliamentary constituency Amethi, Uttar Pradesh, in the Lok Sabha elections. 

Rajiv Gandhi's term in office also witnessed controversies, such as the Bofors scandal, the Bhopal Gas Disaster, and Mohd. Ahmed Khan v. Shah Bano Begum case to name a few. Gandhi remained Congress chief until the 1991 Lok Sabha elections. On May 21, 1991, he was assassinated during an election campaign by a suicide bomber belonging to Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) group in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu.