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