Srinagar | The Congress in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday paid tributes to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 79th birth anniversary.

Former Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) chief G A Mir said Gandhi, the youngest prime minister of India, brought several revolutionary changes in the country.

"In his five years as the PM, he took several visionary steps like reducing the voting age to 18 years and introducing digitalisation, which he was criticised for. He introduced the 73rd amendment related to the strengthening of the panchayati raj system," he said.

Mir said the level of governance today, in contrast, has fallen. "People are being divided, hatred is being spread. Unemployment is rising and so is inflation," the Congress leader added.

On Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's Ladakh visit, Mir said the MP from Wayanad was the first to raise the issue of land encroachment by China. "Today, he has gone to the area himself. I am sure people will show him the area, the grazing lands, which they cannot access after the Chinese incursions," he said.

On the renaming of institutions by the Centre, Mir said the time has come for the people to change the government.

"It is not about changing the names of institutions named after Indira Gandhi or Jawaharlal Nehru or Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah. They might think they have done something great but in 2024, the country is preparing to change those who are changing the names," he said.