HYDERABAD: Congress leaders on Sunday recalled on Sunday that the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had visited Hyderabad just 17 days before her assassination. While celebrating Indira’s birth centenary at Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavana pole at Charminar, Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavana Yatra Commemoration Committee chairman G Niranjan remembered the Iron Lady’s October 14 visit to Hyderabad in 1984.
“On that day, Indira Gandhi came to Charminar to console the victims of communal riots that had taken place in the Old City. She was representing the Medak Lok Sabha seat at the time of her assassination,” he said.
Earlier in the day, the birth centenary celebrations of Indira Gandhi were organised at Gandhi Bhavan. After inaugurating a blood donation camp on the occasion, TPCC chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy accused the BJP-led NDA government of distorting history to marginalise the contributions of Nehru-Gandhi family to the country.
Uttam recalled the services of the then prime minister and said all her decisions were full of vision and commitment. He said it was during Indira’s regime that India had begun its journey towards becoming a super power. “She ensured welfare of poor, empowerment of weaker sections, industrial growth, food security, and also dealt with the country’s enemies with an iron hand,” Uttam added.
“India is counted among world’s major economies today primarily because of the policies introduced and implemented by Indira Gandhi. The list of her achievements is too long, and her contribution in making India a powerful nation can never be forgotten,” the TPCC chief said. Senior leaders including Rajya Sabha members KVP Ramchander Rao and MA Khan, ex-PCC president Ponnala Lakshmaiah, Leader of the Opposition in Council Shabbir Ali, former ministers - Danam Nagender and D Sridhar Babu, ex-MP M Anjan Kumar Yadav, and others paid floral tributes to Indira Gandhi at her statue at Necklace Road.
The occasion was also marked with blood donation camps, distribution of rice and sarees among the poor by the Congress leaders across the state.