Congress leaders paid their last respects to former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, who passed away at the age of 92, at Bidhan Bhavan in Kolkata on Friday.
| Photo Credit: ANI
An order from the Ministry of Home Affairs stated that former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh will be accorded a State funeral with full military honours at the Nigambodh Ghat, a public cremation ground in north Delhi, on Saturday (December 28, 2024).
The Congress, that had demanded the funeral to take place in a place where a memorial of Dr Singh can be built, called it a “deliberate insult to the first Sikh Prime Minister of India”.
The government decision on the funeral site came hours after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday (December 27, 2024) had spoken to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
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Congress general secretaries K C Venugopal and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra too had taken up the issue of a memorial with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, said an informed source.
The source told The Hindu that government officials have conveyed it to Mr Kharge as well as the former Prime Minister’s family that a memorial for Dr Singh would be earmarked in the next few days but it will not the same place where his funeral takes place. In fact, it was the Congress-led UPA government that had decided to have a common memorial ground – Rashtriya Smriti Sthal – near Raj Ghat because of shortage of land next to the Yamuna river in central Delhi.
The government’s response came after Mr Kharge had followed up his telephonic conversations with a letter to the Prime Minister to press for a funeral site where a memorial can be built.
“This is in keeping with such tradition of having memorials of statesmen and former Prime Ministers at the very place of their funerals,” Mr. Kharge said in his two-page letter.
The Congress chief said Dr Manmohan Singh holds a highly revered place in the psyche of the country and the people of this nation, and his contributions and achievements were phenomenal. “Coming from a humble background and having experienced the pains and sufferings of the Partition, it is through his sheer grit and determination that he rose to become one of the leading statesmen of the world. I hope and trust that befitting stature of Dr Manmohan Singh, request to have the funeral of Dr Singh at a place where his memorial can be built, will be acceded,”hr said in his letter.
The Congress’ insistence for a memorial can also be seen as one to counter allegations that former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao’s cortege was not allowed inside the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters.
“The people of our country are simply unable to understand why the Government of India could not find a location for his cremation and memorial that is befitting of his global stature, record of outstanding achievements, and exemplary service to the nation for decades,” Congress communication chief Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X.
“This is nothing but a deliberate insult to the first Sikh Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh,” Mr Ramesh added.
Dr Singh’s body would be taken to the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters for party workers and public to pay their respects before the official funeral takes place.
On Friday, draped in the Tricolour, the former Prime Minister’s body was kept at his 3, Motilal Nehru Road residence for leaders and public to pay respects. President Droupadi Murmu, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Modi, former President Ram Nath Kovind, BJP chief J. P. Nadda, the Home Minister and the Defence Minister were among those who offered their respects.
Top Congress leaders, including Mr. Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Ms. Vadra, Mr. Venugopal, were among the first to reach the residence. Chief Ministers M. K. Stalin, N. Chandrababu Naidu, A. Revanth Reddy, Atishi, Aam Admi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal, CPI general secretary D. Raja also visited the former Prime Minister’s house.
Published – December 27, 2024 10:12 pm IST
