Tirupati

Congressleaders led by its district president Gowdapera Chittibabu, held a commemorative event to mark 82nd birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, here on Thursday. Leaders and party workers paid floral tributes at Rajiv Gandhi statue. Speaking on the occasion, G Chittibabu praised Rajiv Gandhi as the architect of India’s modern technological transformation. He highlighted Rajiv Gandhi’s initiatives during 1984–1989 that promoted information technology, reduced import duties on computers, and expanded access to communication technologies in rural areas. He said these policies laid foundation for widespread use of computers and mobile phones and accelerated national development. Senior Congress leader Mangati Gopal Reddy recalled Rajiv Gandhi’s role in supporting telecom expansion, including the work led by Sam Pitroda and the establishment of C-DOT, which extended telephone networks to villages.