india

Updated: Aug 20, 2019 13:30 IST

Former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said that the 75th birth anniversary of ex-PM Rajiv Gandhi presents an opportunity to reflect on some of the “disturbing trends” that the country is witnessing, including the “growing incidence of violent crimes” by mobs who take the law in their own hands.

Dr Singh was speaking at an event organised by the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation to present the “Rajiv Gandhi Janma Pancha Sapthathi Puraskar” to those who have made valuable contributions to society in the last decade.

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“Another cause for solemn reflection today is some disturbing trends that our country has been witnessing over the past few years. These unpleasant trends of growing intolerance, communal polarization, growing incidence of violent crimes propelled by hatred of certain groups and of mobs taking the law in their own hands can only damage our polity. They are repugnant to the promotion of peace, national integration and communal harmony, which are cherished objectives enshrined in our Constitution. All of us need to reflect on how we can contribute to arresting these trends,” Dr Singh said.

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He said that the party continues to mourn the untimely loss of Rajiv Gandhi, who served as the prime minister from 1984 to 1989. “He was the one who truly set the direction for equipping our nation for entering the new millennium with a progressive, modern and scientific outlook … If Rajiv ji were to be with us today nothing would give him greater comfort than to see how many of his ideas have now come to be accepted as the reality of our development, thinking for the 21st Century,” the former prime minister said.

Dr Singh said that apart from major strides in communication and information technology, Rajiv Gandhi worked towards ending the decades-old insurgency movement in Mizoram and in opening a fresh dialogue with China. He said that Gandhi also helped launch technology missions. “He was, as I said, a true visionary. He was also a very practical and hard-working person. It is this combination of vision and practical common sense, of passion and hard work that endeared him to so many in so short a period of time,” Dr Singh said.