PM Modi, Rahul Gandhi pay tribute to Indira Gandhi

New Delhi: On the eve of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s death anniversary, several leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former President Pranab Mukherjee, paid tribute to her.

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Mr Singh and Mr Mukherjee went to “Shakti Sthal” and paid homage to the former Prime Minister.  Mr Gandhi tweeted a picture of Indira Gandhi and said, “Forgiveness is a virtue of the brave: Indira Gandhi.” “Tributes to former PM Indira Gandhi on her death anniversary,” Mr Modi tweeted.

Later, senior Congress leaders also attended a prayer meeting at the memorial at 1, Akbar Road. Congress president Sonia Gandhi did not attend the events as she is recovering after returning from the hospital.

In a ceremony in the national capital, the Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration was also presented on Tuesday to T.M. Krishna, known by many for his accomplishments and gifts as one of the most accomplished Carnatic maestros in the country. Speaking at the presentation ceremony, the Congress vice-president hit out at the divisive forces in the country.  

“That idea of India that Indira Gandhi fought for has been thrown fundamentally into question by the rising intolerance that we are witnessing today. A view of Indianness that is one-sided, discriminatory, even warped, is being thrust upon us,” Mr Gandhi said.

Taking a dig at demands for renaming places and monuments, Mr Gandhi said, “The country’s heritage is now in the hands of those who are bent upon rewriting history, imposing falsehood and unscientific ideas on our people and stifling independent thinking...”

The liberal, tolerant Indian ethos that Indira Gandhi embodied in her life and beliefs is openly rejected and repudiated.”