A touch of darkness descended late into the night.
Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s “last voyage” began on the fateful day of May 21, 1991 in Fort City. Exactly thirty years ago, the people of Vizianagaram were full of joy until evening and complete sadness until late at night around 11 p.m.
The reason for their joy and sadness was Rajiv Gandhi, the former Prime Minister. Smiling-faced Mr. Rajiv toured Vizianagaram and campaigned on the soccer field that same day to secure victory for Congress Party’s candidate Ananda Gajapathi Raju. He was enthusiastically received at public meetings and on the canton’s parade ground. Regardless of political ideology, the people of Vizianagaram respected the leaders of all parties at the time.
It was the main reason for the large crowd that wanted to see national leader Rajiv Gandhi. However, their joy turned to sadness late into the night when he murdered Tamil Nadu in Sri Perumbudur. There was some darkness throughout Fort City, and the shocking news spread around 11 p.m. on May 21, 2021.
“After completing the Vizianagaram tour, he went to Visakhapatnam. The pilots of the scheduled flight informed him that there was a technical catch and the tour could possibly be postponed. But in a few hours he got information that the plane was ready. And it has become a lost journey for him, if the flight had been missed he could have stayed alive to this day, ”said Elisetty Suresh Kumar, a political analyst who attended the public meeting.
In fact, former Minister Indira Gandhi and her son Rajiv Gandhi had a special relationship with Fort City thanks to their personal connection with PVG Raju, founder of the MANSAS Trust and father of Pusapati Ananda Gajapathi Raju. It was the main reason for visiting Fort City in many times. Ms. Indira spoke to public gatherings in Ayodhya Maidan during the election. Mr. Rajiv continued the legacy and visited the Fort City when he was in power.
“Mr. Rajiv Gandhi approved special funds for North Andhra after assessing the drought situation in 1985-86. He sanctioned the Navodaya school in Vizianagaram district. We cannot forget the towering personality in our lives. The fate of the country and the future of the Congress party could have been different if he had been alive, ”said Jaggina Adinarayana, a senior journalist.