The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday hit back at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for “politicising former prime minister Manmohan Singh’s death”.
“The kind of deceptive politics Congress has engaged in, especially Rahul Gandhi, is unfortunate. Just an hour ago, Rahul Gandhi tweeted accusing the BJP of disrespecting former PM Manmohan Singh by conducting his last rites at Nigam Bodh Ghat. On a day of mourning, I believe Congress should have refrained from this kind of politics,” said BJP MP Sambit Patra.
This comes hours after Rahul Gandhi, who is also the LoP in the Lok Sabha, slammed the Modi government for the manner in which the last rites of former prime minister Manmohan Singh were performed.
In an X post, Gandhi, who often addresses the former PM as his ‘mentor’ expressed his discontent over the decision to perform Manmohan Singh’s final rites at Nigambodh Ghat, a public cremation ground in north Delhi.
“The great son of India and the first Prime Minister of the Sikh community, Dr. Manmohan Singh ji has been totally insulted by the present government by performing his last rites today at the Nigambodh Ghat,” Rahul Gandhi posted on X.
Gandhi, who is a staunch critic of the current NDA regime, argued that Singh, who was India’s PM for a decade, deserves the highest respect.
“To date, respecting the dignity of all former Prime Ministers, their last rites were performed at authorized burial sites so that every person could have the last darshan and pay homage without any inconvenience. Dr Manmohan Singh deserves our highest respect and a memorial. The government should have shown respect to this great son of the country and his proud community,” he added in the post.
Row over Manmohan Singh’s memorial
Earlier, the Congress party had called for Singh’s funeral to take place at a location where a memorial could be constructed to honour his legacy.
However, the Centre said land for a memorial would be earmarked in the next few days. But it would not be the place where the funeral took place. The Congress called it a “deliberate insult to the first Sikh Prime Minister of India.”
In response to the criticism, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge had earlier written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging that the cremation be held at a location suitable for building a memorial for Singh.
Emphasising that, BJP’s Sambit Patra said that a cabinet meeting was called by the Centre as soon as the news of Dr Singh’s demise came out and the home minister said that a memorial will be built to suit the stature of the late leader.
“We assured Dr Singh’s family and Congress to go ahead with the funeral and last rites process by the time the government allocates the land and other necessary procedures. The Congress party engaged in politics on this matter as well,” said Patra.
Despite the controversy, Singh was accorded a state funeral with full military honours on Saturday at Nigambodh Ghat. The former prime minister passed away at the age of 92 on Thursday after suffering from age-related medical conditions.
