Remembering birthdays we celebrated together: Rahul on father Rajiv Gandhi

New Delhi: On the 74th birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi remembered his father and paid tribute to him.

Rahul Gandhi tweeted that his father was "a kind, gentle and affectionate man whose untimely death left a deep void in my life".

"I remember the times we had together and the many birthdays we were lucky to celebrate with him when he was alive. He is greatly missed, but his memory lives on," he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also paid his tribute to Rajiv Gandhi. "Tributes to our former Prime Minister Shri Rajiv GandhiJi on his birth anniversary. We remember his efforts towards the nation," PM Modi said in his tweet.

West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee also posted her tribute: "Fondly remembering our former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhiji on his birth anniversary". An earlier tweet that had wrongly referred to Rajiv Gandhi's "death anniversary" was deleted from her Twitter page.

Rahul Gandhi, his mother and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, and sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra visited Rajiv Gandhi's memorial Veer Bhumi. Congress veterans and leaders, including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh too were present there to pay their homage.

Born on August 20, 1944, Rajiv Gandhi was the seventh Prime Minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He assumed office after the 1984 assassination of his mother and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

At 40, Rajiv Gandhi was the youngest Prime Minister of the country. The seventh prime minister was assassinated in 1991, by a suicide bomber while he was at a public meeting in Tamil Nadu's Sriperumbudur.