Sonia Gandhi reflects on Rajiv Gandhi's achievements on his 79th birth anniversary

Sonia Gandhi and Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge, on August 20, attended the 25th Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhawna Award at Jawahar Bhawan on the 79th birth anniversary of former PM Rajiv Gandhi. At the event, Sonia Gandhi, the wife of Rajiv Gandhi, reflected on her husband's legacy which spans from women empowerment to voting rights to 18-year-olds. 

"Rajiv Gandhi was fully committed to the empowerment of women. He fought for one-third reservation for women in panchayats and municipalities. For the first time in the parliamentary elections of 1989, 18-year-olds were given the right to vote, of which half were women," Sonia Gandhi said in her address. 

Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi got married in 1968 in New Delhi at Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan's house since their families had a long-standing friendship. Unfortunately, tragedy struck their relationship after Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated on May 21, 1991, by a suicide bomber sent by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) group waging a civil war in Sri Lanka. 

Once a professional pilot, Rajiv Gandhi served as the sixth Prime Minister of India from 1984 to 1989 at the age of 40, the youngest ever in the office. 

In her speech, Sonia Gandhi recounted his achievements and his devotion to preserving India's unity. "Rajiv Gandhi had achieved countless achievements even in the short time he got to serve the country. He was a supporter of the protection and conservation of polymorphism present in India," she said. "He was very sensitive to the fact that the unity of India can be strengthened only by celebrating religious, ethnic, languages ​​and culture," she further said. 

Kharge pays tribute to Rajiv Gandhi, recalls his achievements

Kharge also addressed the event and recalled the achievements of the Congress party under Rajiv Gandhi's leadership. 

"Today, several people from different ideologies try to discredit Rajiv Gandhi's achievements... Rajiv Gandhi's success cannot be hidden for too long," Kharge said. "In 1984, under Rajiv Gandhi, Congress got the highest majority of 401 seats in Lok Sabha. Rajiv Gandhi always worked for the development of all sections of the society," he further said.