NEW DELHI: President Pranab Mukherjee and Vice President Hamid Ansari were conspicuous by their absence at the memorial to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his death anniversary today, apparently against the backdrop of new government’s decision that such functions will be a non- governmental affair.
Both the leaders had visited ‘Vir Bhumi’, the memorial to the late leader, in previous years to pay their homage but did not do so today.
Rajiv’s wife and Congress President Sonia Gandhi, accompanied by son and party Vice President Rahul Gandhi, daughter Priyanka Gandhi and son-in-law Robert Vadra offered flowers.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and a number of party leaders including P C Chacko, Oscar Fernandes, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ajay Maken were among those who paid tributes to the leader.
Explaining the President’s absence, Rashtrapati Bhawan sources said that the Congress party, which organized the function, was following the new government’s decision that such functions should be either family or party affair.
The Congress sources also said that the party had requested both the President and the Vice President to attend Rajiv’s birth anniversary function only which falls on Aug 20.
Rajiv Gandhi, who was the sixth and youngest PM of India, was assassinated on May 21, 1991 at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu during election campaign.–PTI
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