Vice Admiral Vinod Pasricha (retd), who was then the captain of INS Viraat, said Rajiv Gandhi boarded the warship in his capacity as the PM that December, spent two nights on board, and that no foreigners accompanied him. Rajiv Gandhi’s in-laws were also present. He said Rajiv Gandhi was accompanied by his wife Sonia, son Rahul and a couple of IAS officers. However, Commander VK Jaitly (retd), who was then a lieutenant and a weapons maintenance officer on the warship, said, “Rajiv and Sonia Gandhi used INS Viraat for travel to celebrate their holidays at Bangaram island. I was posted on INS Viraat that time.” He said preparations for the VVIP visit began a month in advance.

Source: Hindustan Times May 09, 2019 18:04 UTC