The Indian government on Friday night said it has decided to allocate space for the memorial of late Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, whose last rites are scheduled to be performed later on Saturday, December 28.
A late-night release issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs said: “Today morning, Government received a request to allocate space for a memorial for former Prime Minister Late Dr Manmohan Singh, from the Congress Party President.”
“Immediately after the Cabinet meeting, HM Shri Amit Shah communicated to Congress President Shri Kharge and the family of Late Dr Manmohan Singh that the Government will allocate space for the memorial,” the statement said.
The MHA said the cremation and other formalities can happen in the meantime, because the formation of a memorial will first need the formation of a trust and allocation of space.
Congress chief writes to Modi seeking space for Singh’s memorial
Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, discussing the possibility of building a memorial for Singh at the same site where his last rites would be held, the party said.
“Apropos our telephonic conversation today morning, wherein I made a request to hold Dr Manmohan Singh’s last rites, which will take place tomorrow i.e. 28th December 2024, at his final resting place that would be a sacrosanct venue for memorial of the great son of India,” Kharge said in the letter, which was posted by the Congress on X.
“This is in keeping with such tradition of having memorials of statesmen and former prime ministers at the very place of their funerals,” the Congress chief said.
Congress-BJP exchange war-of-words
If media reports are to be believed, the Congress Party’s demand for a separate memorial site for Manmohan Singh was initially denied by the Union government.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh earlier wrote on X: “Earlier this morning, Congress President had written to the Prime Minister, suggesting that the cremation of the former Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, take place at a location where a memorial could be built to honour his legacy.”
“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. This is nothing but a deliberate insult to the first Sikh Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh,” he said.
Sharing the statement issued by the Home Ministry, BJP leader Amit Malviya said it was ‘unfortunate’ that Congress chose to politicise former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s death.
“It is unfortunate that the Congress chose to politicise former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s death, even though Home Minister Amit Shah had communicated GoI’s decision to allocate space for the departed leader’s memorial, soon after the Cabinet meeting. Both Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Dr Singh’s family were informed,” Malviya posted on X.
Ending an era in the Indian political paradigm, Manmohan Singh, who served as the Indian PM for two terms, died on Thursday. He was 92.
Singh rose to prominence as the country’s finance minister during the Congress regime headed by PV Narasimha Rao from 1991-96, for bringing sweeping reforms that transformed the economy. As the two-term UPA Prime Minister, he stayed at the top post from 2004 to 2014 and served as a member of the Rajya Sabha till early this year. He retired from the Rajya Sabha in April.
