Indira Gandhi’s 42nd Death Anniversary: Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Kharge Pay Tributes at Shakti Sthal
Congress leaders gathered at the former Prime Minister's memorial in Delhi, while Karnataka CM D.K. Shivakumar recalled her "Garibi Hatao" call.
Senior Congress leaders paid homage to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi at Shakti Sthal in New Delhi on Saturday, 31 October, the 42nd anniversary of her assassination.
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi offered tributes at the memorial. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other senior party leaders also attended the commemoration.
“Iron Lady”
Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, in a post on X, referred to her as the “Iron Lady” and recalled her “Garibi Hatao” (remove poverty) slogan and her work for the poor and marginalised. He also pointed to advances in farm output, banking, and the space and nuclear programmes during her years in office. “Paying my respects to the Iron Lady and former Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi on her death anniversary,” he wrote.
Her life and legacy
Born on 19 November 1917 to Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi became the country’s first woman Prime Minister. She held the office from 1966 to 1977, and again from 1980 until 31 October 1984, when she was shot dead by two of her bodyguards at her residence in New Delhi.
The day also coincides with Rashtriya Ekta Diwas, the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, and Indira Gandhi’s name was among the rising searches in India on Saturday.
Featured image: Shakti Sthal, the memorial of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in New Delhi. Photo: Ministry of Culture, Wikimedia Commons, GODL-India (source).
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