Sonia, PM pay tributes to Rajiv Gandhi

Sriperumbudur, Nov 4: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi today paid floral tributes to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi at his memorial here.

Driving down after the foundation stone laying ceremony of Global Automotive Research Centre at Oragadam near here, Dr Singh and Ms Gandhi, accompanied by Governor S S Barnala and Chief Minister M Karunanidhi paid tributes to the late leader by showering rose petals.

Ms Gandhi was seen in tears when she stood close to the marble block inlaid with scattered flowers, installed at the exact spot where her husband fell victim to a suicide bomber on May 21, 1991.

After Dr Singh offered floral tributes, Ms Gandhi, clad in a white flowered saree, paid homage by offering rose petals. She was seen wiping the tears that welled up in her eyes.

Mr Karunanidhi, on his maiden visit to the Memorial after becoming Chief Minister, drove close to the marble in a battery-operated small car as he could not walk the stretch from the main road.

Union Ministers including P Chidambaram, T R Baalu, Dayanidhi Maran, A Raja, Anbumani Ramadoss, G K Vasan, E V K S Elangovan, TNCC President M Krishnasamy, MPs and MLAs were present at the occasion.

President A P J Abdul Kalam dedicated the memorial to the nation in October 2003, in the presence of Ms Gandhi and her children, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra.

The Rs 21.15-crore memorial was constructed by the Central Public Works Department and conceived and created by an array of eminent artists over the past decade.

UNI