Page 2036 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 28 May 1991
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DEATH OF MR RAJIV GANDHI
MR KAINE (Chief Minister): I move:
That the Assembly expresses its deep regret at the death of Mr Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India, and tenders its profound sympathy to his widow and family in their bereavement.
Mr Speaker, at a time of secular turmoil, the world now also mourns the loss of India's former Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, a man who, like his predecessors, was committed to the future, and the future of democracy in particular. Rajiv Gandhi, although a man born of politics, was thrust reluctantly into politics. He was a man who considered himself a politician for and of the people. Like his mother and his grandfather, he too was a champion of democracy with a deep and abiding commitment that a sound democratic system would be crucial in guiding India into the next century.
As we witness what may be the end of the Gandhi dynasty - a period in which the Government has been dealt some overwhelming challenges - India is again on the brink of a new chapter and facing perhaps its greatest challenge.
I am sure, Mr Speaker, that I speak for us all here in the Assembly today as we join the rest of the world in mourning the untimely death of a man who provided hope for so many. We now can only hope that India's future leaders continue with a similar commitment to democracy to that of Rajiv Gandhi. His death represents not only the end of a life, but the end of an era, and he will be sadly missed.
MS FOLLETT (Leader of the Opposition): The Labor members of the Assembly join in supporting this motion of condolence on the death of the former Indian Prime Minister, Mr Rajiv Gandhi. It was with a sense of shock and horror that we learnt last week of the assassination of Mr Gandhi - shock and horror not simply for the loss of an impressive leader, for the grief felt by his wife and his family, or for the appalling fact of yet another political assassination. In a very real sense we felt a sadness for India itself as it endured another tragedy in the long struggle to grapple with the many problems posed by religious differences, population and environment.
Mr Speaker, Rajiv Gandhi is an example of how some people rise to the occasion and become great leaders. Much has been made of the so-called political dynasty in India which has seen the history of independent India, the Congress Party and the Nehru family intertwined. But, while his grandfather was India's first Prime Minister and his mother led India for almost all of the period from 1966 till 1984, Rajiv Gandhi did not start with political ambitions. It is
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