Kalam dedicates Rajiv Gandhi memorial to nation
Friday, October 10 2003 18:34 Hrs (IST)
Sriperumbudur (TN): President A P J Abdul Kalam on October 10 dedicated to the nation the memorial
of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who was assassinated in Sriperumbudur by a human bomb more
than 12 years ago.
Congress president and wife of the late leader Sonia Gandhi, her daughter Priyanka, son Rahul, and
son-in-law Robert Wadhera and Chief Ministers of various Congress-ruled states, besides hundreds of
Congressmen were present at the solemn occasion.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa was conspicuous by her absence at the function, held amid very
tight security with over 2,000 policemen deployed for bando-bust.
On reaching the site, both the President and Sonia Gandhi went round the gigantic memorial that has
come up on 12.19 acres of land, and paid floral tributes to late Rajiv Gandhi. There were no
speeches.
Those who participated in the function included Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Punjab Chief Minister
Amrinder Singh, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Maharashtra Chief Minister Sushil Kumar
Shinde, Karnataka Chief Minister S M Krishna, Kerala Chief Minister A K Antony and Pondicherry Chief
Minister N Rangasamy.
The memorial has been developed by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) at a cost of Rs
21.15 crore. The land was given free of cost by the Tamil Nadu government.
PTI
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