Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday recalled the contribution of his father, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in signing the Punjab, Assam and Mizoram accords by stating that the steps contributed towards ending the years of conflict and violence in the regions. “Amongst Rajiv Gandhi ji’s many achievements were the Punjab, Assam and Mizoram accords, that helped bring to end years of conflict and violence. He also added that these accords built on a foundation of mutual respect, understanding and peaceful coexistence, strengthened the Indian Union. Rahul’s statements come at a time when Congress is marking the 75th Birth Anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi with week long events. On Monday, Gandhi scion had announced that the whole week will be dedicated to the late Prime Minister by drawing the country’s attention towards his incredible achievements. As part of the ongoing events, Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi will address a gathering of leaders, party workers from across the country and artists among others at a special event here today. This will be the first event in the series of programs as a part of celebrations. It would also set into motion various events and programmes to be organised across the country under the theme of ‘Rajiv@75′. The Assam Accord, a memorandum of settlement (MoS) was signed between representatives of the Central government led by then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and the leaders of the Assam Movement in New Delhi on August 15, 1985. The core point of the accord was the identification and deportation of illegal immigrants from Assam, for which the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) had been protesting since 1979. In August 1985, Rajiv Gandhi signed Punjab through which the government agreed that Chandigarh would be transferred to Punjab and elections for the state assembly were held in September same year. Born on August 20 in 1944, Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) suicide bomber during an election rally in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu on May 21, 1991.
