Congress president Rahul Gandhi, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh Wednesday paid tribute to Indira Gandhi on her death anniversary at Shakti Sthan. Indira, India’s first female prime minister and the second-longest serving PM of the country after her father Jawaharlal Nehru, was assassinated on October 31, 1984.
Taking to Twitter, Rahul said, “Remembering Dadi today with a deep sense of happiness. She taught me so much and gave me unending love. She gave so much of herself to her people. I am very proud of her.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, too, paid tribute to the former PM on her death anniversary.
Praising the former prime minister, BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha, in an interview on Tuesday, said he would have been in the Congress if Indira was alive today.
Indira was appointed the president of the Congress in 1959 and served as prime minister of the country from 1966 to 1977. She lost power soon after the period of Emergency (1975-77) after national discontent and countrywide protests. After returning to power in 1980, she ordered the storming of the Sikh holy shrine Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar, which led to her assassination. She went to war with Pakistan supporting the independence movement in East Pakistan leading to the formation of Bangladesh.
Wednesday also marks the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Events have been planned across the country to commemorate the two occasions.