India Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid homage to Rajiv Gandhi, former prime minister, on the occasion of his 78th birth anniversary. Modi tweeted: “On his birth anniversary, tributes to our former Prime Minister Shri Rajiv Gandhi.”

Rajiv Gandhi was the sixth Prime Minister of India, and the third belonging to the powerful Nehru-Gandhi family. He followed in the footsteps of his mother, Indira Gandhi, and grandfather, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, in leading the country. He also remains the youngest ever Prime Minister the country has ever had, taking the reins of the country at the age of 40.  

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He was the Indian prime minister from 1984-1989, and his era was the last time the Congress has ever had a majority in the Lok Sabha, when the country buoyed by a wave of sympathy after the assassination of his mother Indira Gandhi handed him power with an overwhelming mandate.

Rajiv Gandhi like his mother, was assassinated. He was targeted by an LTTE suicide bomber at Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu in May 1991.

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Rajiv Gandhi is remembered as the leader who pushed the Indian economy into a phase of liberalisation through a spate of economic reforms and a reduction of License Raj. Moreover, he is the man credited with heralding the telecom and IT revolution in the country. He pushed hard in his time to develop telephone network in rural areas and his efforts created MTNL in 1986. 

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The Congress party also paid its tributes to one of its most beloved leaders. “We fondly remember former Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi, on his birth anniversary. Hailed as the “architect of 21st century India”, it was through his farsighted vision that ushered in the IT & telecom revolution in India. Today, we celebrate his legacy,” Congress tweeted.