By IANS,
New Delhi : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Wednesday released here a commemorative postal stamp on the late central minister and Congress veteran Rajesh Pilot.
Remembering his association with Pilot, who died in a car accident June 11, 2000, Manmohan Singh said the late leader had “worked relentlessly to reach the communication revolution” to the rural masses.
“As minister of state for home affairs, Pilot had taken many efforts to bring peace in Jammu and Kashmir,” Manmohan Singh said at a function at the Balayogi Auditorium in the parliament library building.
“The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology is deeply indebted to him as the telecom revolution, which is taking place in India, would not have been possible without the far reaching changes he initiated in his time,” Communications and IT Minister A. Raja said.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister’s Office minister Prithviraj Chavan, Minister of State for Steel Jitin Prasada and several party MPs attended the function.
The late leader’s family members, including his widow and former MP Rama Pilot and son Sachin Pilot, MP, were also present.
There were some emotional moments when Rajesh Pilot’s childhood friend Jagat Singh, who was brought to the stage by Sachin, thanked the prime minister and Gandhi for taking initiatives in bringing out the stamp. He then went ahead and shook hands with an amused Gandhi prompting the audience to applaud.
The audience shouted “Pilot-ji will live long” as the prime minister released the Rs.5 stamp – with a photograph of Pilot with his trademark red turban and small photo of him as a fighter pilot.