Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi paid rich tributes to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his birth anniversary on Tuesday.

In a post on X, the prime minister wrote, “Tributes to our former Prime Minister Shri Rajiv Gandhi Ji on his birth anniversary.”

Kharge, who is also the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, along with Sonia Gandhi, paid tributes to the former PM at his portrait at the Central Hall of the Samvidhan Sadan.

In a post on X, the Congress chief wrote, “The greatest memorial to Rajiv Gandhi’s life’s work would be to revive India’s inherent culture of empathy, healing, and reconciliation, fostering intellectual freedom, technological innovation, and youth empowerment.

“This would be achieved with a balanced approach that combines prosperity at the Panchayati Raj level with equality, thereby honouring his vision for a harmonious, equal, just and a progressive nation.”

Recalling the contribution of the former prime minister, Kharge said, “Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was a great son of India. He awakened a ray of hope among crores of Indians and with his unprecedented contribution took India into the 21st century.”

“His many positive steps like reducing the voting age to 18 years, strengthening Panchayati Raj, telecom and IT revolution, computerization programme, continued peace accords, women empowerment, universal vaccination program and new education policy emphasizing on inclusive education brought transformational changes in the country,” he said.

Earlier in the morning, Leader of the Opposition Gandhi paid floral tributes to the former PM at Vir Bhumi here. “A compassionate personality, symbol of harmony and goodwill… Papa, your teachings are my inspiration, and I will fulfill your dreams for India by taking your memories with me as my own,” he wrote in a social media post later.

Paying rich tributes to the former prime minister, Congress general secretary in-charge of Organisation KC Venugopal said, “I pay my heartfelt tributes to our former Prime Minister, Bharat Ratna Rajiv Gandhi ji. Snatched away from us too soon, he was a visionary whose reforms prepared India for the 21st century.”

“In a single tenure, he set an example for how India should be governed across fields, be it foreign policy, defence, economic reform, or deepening democracy.His values will forever guide us in our actions, and his absence will always be felt,” he said.