Shimla: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu paid floral tributes to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his birth anniversary at Sadbhawana Chowk in Chhota Shimla on Wednesday, recalling his contribution to India’s development and calling on people to follow the path of harmony and national unity.
Speaking at the commemorative event, Sukhu described Rajiv Gandhi as the “Architect of Modern India” and said the former prime minister had made the ultimate sacrifice for the unity and integrity of the country.
The chief minister said Rajiv Gandhi’s political vision had been particularly significant in shaping India’s technological transformation. According to Sukhu, the information technology revolution that later became a defining feature of the Indian economy was rooted in the former prime minister’s forward-looking approach.
He said the younger generation was now benefiting from the technological advances that Rajiv Gandhi had envisioned decades ago.
The event also carried a strong message of communal harmony and national integration. Sukhu administered the Sadbhawana pledge to those attending the programme, urging people to uphold the values of peace, unity and mutual respect.
Later, at the Himachal Pradesh Secretariat, the chief minister administered a separate pledge on national integration and communal harmony to officers and employees.
The commemoration was attended by several members of the Himachal Pradesh government, legislators and Congress leaders, including Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Col Dhani Ram Shandil, Education Minister Rohit Thakur and Horticulture Minister Jagat Singh Negi.
Deputy Chief Whip Kewal Singh Pathania, MLAs Sanjay Awasthy, Suresh Kumar and Harish Janartha, Shimla Municipal Corporation Mayor Surinder Chauhan and several other senior public representatives were also present.
Senior officials and representatives of various state institutions, including Himachal Pradesh State Forest Development Corporation Vice-Chairman Kehar Singh Khachi, Himachal Pradesh State Cooperative Bank Chairman Devender Shyam and Kailash Federation Chairman Baldev Thakur, attended the programme.
The event also brought together senior Congress functionaries, including Himachal Pradesh Congress affairs co-in-charge Vidit Chaudhary and State Congress Committee General Secretary Vinod Zinta.
For the Sukhu government, the occasion provided an opportunity to underline the continuing relevance of Rajiv Gandhi’s emphasis on modernisation, technology and national integration. The chief minister’s remarks placed particular emphasis on the idea that technological progress and national development must be accompanied by social harmony and unity.
