PM Modi pays tributes to former PM Rajiv Gandhi on his death anniversary

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday paid tributes to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his death anniversary. The Congress leader was assassinated on this day by a suicide bomber in Tamil Nadu 31 years ago. "On his death anniversary, paying tributes to our former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi," PM Modi tweeted. Rajiv Gandhi was born on August 20, 1944, in Bombay, to former prime minister Indira Gandhi and freedom fighter, politician Feroze Gandhi. He served as the sixth prime minister of the country, from 1984 to 1989, and was also the youngest-ever to hold the office. Gandhi entered the political arena after the demise of his brother Sanjay Gandhi in a fighter plane crash in 1980. A year later, he marked his political success by winning his brother’s parliamentary constituency - Amethi, Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha elections.

He also served as the Congress general secretary before assuming office as the prime minister.

On May 21, 1991, Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) suicide bomber during an election rally in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu. The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the release of AG Perarivalan, who was in jail for 30 years after being convicted for Rajiv Gandhi's assassination. He was accused of buying two nine-volt batteries for Sivarasan of LTTE, who masterminded the assassination.

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