Rahul Gandhi pays homage to Rajiv Gandhi on his 74th birth anniversary

New Delhi: Congress President Rahul Gandhi along with his mother and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi paid homage to his father and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 74th birth anniversary on Monday.

They were accompanied by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, her husband Robert Vadra to the Veer Bhumi here, where many Congress veterans and leaders, including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also paid tributes at the Rajiv Gandhi Samadhi.

Rahul Gandhi tweeted his father was "a kind, gentle and affectionate man whose untimely death left a deep void in my life".

"I remember the times we had together and the many birthdays we were lucky to celebrate with him when he was alive. He is greatly missed, but his memory lives on," he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also paid tribute to Rajiv Gandhi. "Tributes to our former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his birth anniversary. We remember his efforts towards the nation."

Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ashok Gehlot also visited the former Prime Minister's memorial and paid tributes.

All India Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted: "Fondly remembering our former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his birth anniversary".

Born on this day in 1944, Rajiv Gandhi was the youngest person to become Prime Minister at the age of 40 years. He served as the seventh Prime Minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He had to enter politics due to his brother Sanjay Gandhi's untimely death. His disinterest in political career reflects in one of his interviews where he revealed that "If my mother gets help from it, then I will enter politics". He was a trained pilot and continued to serve Air India even after joining politics.

He was assassinated by a suicide bomber in Tamil Nadu's Sriperumbudur during an election campaigning in 1991. He was also conferred with India's highest civilian award 'Bharat Ratna'.