Rajiv Gandhi's vision has put India on growth path: Shabbir Ali

Hyderabad: Former minister and ex-Leader of Opposition in Telangana State Legislative Council Mohammed Ali Shabbir said that it was due to the vision of former prime minister late Rajiv Gandhi which took India into the league of powerful nations in the world.

Addressing the 75th Birth Anniversary celebrations of Rajiv Gandhi here on Tuesday, Shabbir Ali recalled the services of former PM and described them as revolutionary. Paying rich tributes to Rajiv Gandhi, Shabbir Ali said that the edge India is having over other nations in Information Technology, Telecommunication and other digital sectors was solely due to the initiatives taken by Rajiv Gandhi. Calling Rajiv Gandhi the Father of Digital Revolution, he said that lakhs of jobs in the IT and related sectors today were the result of initiatives taken under Rajiv Gandhi's regime.

Shabbir Ali said that Rajiv Gandhi was highly concerned towards the youth and it was he who reduced the qualifying age for voters from 21 to 18 years. This enabled the involvement of youth in the decision making the process. Similarly, he said today women were enjoying 33% reservation in local bodies due to the 73rd and 74th Amendments brought by Rajiv Gandhi.

He expressed concern over malicious attempts being made by RSS and other outfits of Sangh Parivar to malign the image of the Nehru-Gandhi family. He said that the contribution of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi was unforgettable. He said the Nehru-Gandhi family's contribution to building and strengthening the nation could not be undermined. They had a clear vision of the empowerment of common people. They believed in giving more powers to the common people and never suppressed them. However, he said that the BJP Government at the Centre has been making attempts to dilute and distort history to show as if they did nothing for the country. He said the credit of building India from scratch to the level where it is today goes to Nehru-Gandhi family and Rajiv Gandhi has made a huge contribution to it.

Shabbir Ali said that the Congress party would foil all the attempts by RSS and its functionaries to tamper with the history and would explain the real contribution of Rajiv Gandhi for the nation among the people.