Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh pay homage to Rajiv Gandhi on death anniversary; Rahul recalls ‘most valuable gift’

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh and ex-Congress president Sonia Gandhi, among others, on Monday paid homage to former PM Rajiv Gandhi on his 27th death anniversary. They paid floral tributes to the Congress leader at Vir Bhumi in the national capital. Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also visited the memorial to pay homage to their father.

Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh pay homage to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 27th death anniversary at Vir Bhumi in Delhi. pic.twitter.com/rbyhopHmSU — ANI (@ANI) May 21, 2018

Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi pay homage to their father Rajiv Gandhi at Vir Bhumi in Delhi, on the 27th death anniversary of the former Prime Minister. Former President Pranab Mukherjee and Priyanka's husband Robert Vadra also pay homage pic.twitter.com/DFmThKwtI0 — ANI (@ANI) May 21, 2018

Former President Pranab Mukherjee and veteran Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge also visited Vir Bhumi on Monday morning to pay homage to the former prime minister. Another Congress leader who visited Rajiv Gandhi’s memorial was former Union minister Sushil Kumar Shinde.

Rajiv Gandhi’s son and Congress president Rahul Gandhi took to microblogging site Twitter to pen a touching post saying, “My father taught me that hate is a prison for those who carry it”. The Congress chief thanked his father for the “most valuable gift”.

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. pic.twitter.com/BBjESe4D3S — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 21, 2018

“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,” tweeted the Gandhi scion.

Meanwhile, the oath taking ceremony of Janata Dal Secular (JDS) leader HD Kumaraswamy as the Chief Minister of Karnataka, which was initially scheduled for Monday, was deferred to Wednesday in the wake of the death anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi.

"We are going to take oath on Wednesday as Monday is Rajiv Gandhi's death anniversary. That is not a proper date. In the entire country, all the Congress workers will be attending death anniversary functions. Conducting oath taking ceremony at that time is not good," Kumaraswamy had said on Sunday.

Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a woman suicide bomber of LTTE, the terrorist group in Sri Lanka led by Prabhakaran, on May 21, 1991. The attack was carried out at an election rally in Tamil Nadu.