LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh government has directed its officials to take a pledge to not discriminate against caste, community, region, religion, and language and work towards unity and harmony of all Indian citizens on the occasion of the 77th birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi today.
In a letter issued to the Director-General Police, Deputy Commissioners, District Officers, and other senior police officers, Principal Secretary Jitendra Kumar directed to hold programmes to commemorate Rajiv Gandhi's birth anniversary and urged government officials to take the 'Sadbhavana Diwas Pratigya'.
"I pledge that I will not discriminate against caste, community, region, religion and language and will work towards the unity and harmony of all Indian citizens. I also pledge to not rely on violence and resolve differences through dialogue and Constitutional medium," reads the pledge.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also paid tribute to his father and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 77th birth anniversary at Veer Bhumi in the national capital.
"A secular India alone is an India that can survive. Remembering Shri Rajiv Gandhi ji on his birth anniversary," Rahul Gandhi wrote in a Facebook post.
Rajiv Gandhi took over the charge of the Congress in 1984 following the assassination of his mother and then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He became India's youngest Prime Minister at the age of 40.
Born on August 20 in 1944, Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) suicide bomber during an election rally in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu on May 21, 1991.