Sonia Gandhi: We are a leading player in IT thanks to Rajiv Gandhi

Sonia Gandhi inaugurates the silver jubilee celebrations of Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology in Kottayam yesterday.

Kottayam: Congress president Sonia Gandhi, in an emotionally charged speech yesterday, hit back at her late husband Rajiv Gandhi's detractors who criticised him for leaning heavily on the development of Information Technology (IT) and telecommunication when he was the prime minister.

Sonia Gandhi inaugurates the silver jubilee celebrations of Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology in Kottayam yesterday. Pic/PTI

"He was criticised bitterly, attacked, ridiculed and tagged as an elitist when he ushered in a revolution in the IT and telecommunication sector. But he persevered with it and today, yesterday's critics have now taken over the legacy of his," Sonia said, adding, "Rajiv Gandhi brought India into the IT and telecommunication arena and now we are recognised as a leading player in this field."

She was addressing the audience at the state-run Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Techn-ology, currently rated as one of the leading engineering colleges in Kerala. Sonia at one point of time stuttered a little, but regained composure and finished her speech.

The institute was set up by Kerala CM Oommen Chandy in his assembly constituency, when he was the state's finance minister in 1991.

It was the first institution in the country named after Rajiv Gandhi.