Index Page                                Archives

Manmohan, Sonia pay homage to Indira Gandhi

     New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi today led the nation in paying homage to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on her 21st death anniversary. Singh and Gandhi offered floral tributes to the late leader at her Shakti Sthal Memorial here. Union Ministers Shivraj Patil, Natwar Singh, Prithviraj Chauhan and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister-designate Ghulam Nabi Azad were among other Congress leaders and ministers who paid their respects. Gandhi's son and Lok Sabha MP from the Amethi constituency, Rahul Gandhi, also offered floral tributes to his grandmother although his sister Priyanka Vadra and her family members were conspicuous by their absence. An all religion prayer service was held and excerpts from Indira Gandhi's last speech, including the famous 'main rahoon ya na rahoon', were played on the occasion.

     Security at the memorial was tighter than usual in the wake of the serial blasts on Saturday. Indira Gandhi, who was the Prime Minister of the country from 1966 to 1976 and again from 1980 to 1984, was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards at her residence on October 31, 1984, more than four months after she had cleared an army operation to flush out Sikh terrorists from the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar. Her assassination was followed by three days of rioting and communal frenzy with the Sikh community as the prime target. Nearly 3000 Sikhs were killed in the mayhem that followed. Those of whom who survived, are still waiting for justice and retribution, besides compensation. The Indian Government has recently apologised for the massacre and ordered a CBI inquiry against some leaders of the Congress party, who allegedly played key roles in instigating the anti-Sikh riots.