New Delhi: Hours after Dr Manmohan Singh’s last rites were performed with full state honours at Delhi’s Nigambodh Ghat, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra accused the Centre of having “insulted” the former prime minister, the first person from the Sikh community to hold the position, by not arranging the cremation ceremony at a place that could also have been turned into his memorial.
Priyanka, who represents Kerala’s Wayanad in the Lok Sabha, said that the government should have “risen above politics and narrow-mindedness” in the matter, adding that even the members of Singh’s family had to struggle and jostle for space in the crowd at the cremation site.
The Gandhi siblings also received support from Aam Aadmi Party chief, and former Delhi chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, who said that he was “stunned” to learn that Singh’s last rites were performed at Nigambodh Ghat, which is considered the oldest and also the most commonly used crematoriums in the national capital. Kejriwal said that the last rites should have been performed at Raj Ghat instead.
On Friday, in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge had demanded that Singh’s last rites be performed at a place where a memorial could also be built. The government had responded saying that since space will be allotted for building Singh’s memorial only after forming a trust, cremation can take place for now.
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With Singh having breathed his last Thursday night at the age of 92, the Congress decided against getting into a standoff with the government on the issue, and the last rites were performed at Nigambodh Ghat with full state honours in the presence of the highest occupants of the political executive, chief of the three services, and foreign dignitaries.
However, hours after the cremation ceremony was concluded, Rahul, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, hit out at the government, pointing out that till date, the last rites of other prime ministers have been held at designated sites, allowing people to pay their respects without any inconvenience.
“The great son of Mother India and the first Prime Minister from 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. He was the Prime Minister of India for a decade and during his tenure the country became an economic superpower and poor and backward classes of the country still depend on his policies for support,” the MP wrote in a post on X.
भारत माता के महान सपूत और सिख समुदाय के पहले प्रधानमंत्री डॉ मनमोहन सिंह जी का अंतिम संस्कार आज निगमबोध घाट पर करवाकर वर्तमान सरकार द्वारा उनका सरासर अपमान किया गया है।
एक दशक के लिए वह भारत के प्रधानमंत्री रहे, उनके दौर में देश आर्थिक महाशक्ति बना और उनकी नीतियां आज भी देश के…
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) December 28, 2024
Priyanka also took to X to write, “By not providing an appropriate place for the cremation of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the government has not done justice to the dignity of the post of the former PM, his personality, his legacy, and the self-respecting Sikh community. Earlier, all PMs were given the highest honour and respect. Dr Manmohan Singh also deserves this honour and a samadhi sthal.”
पूर्व प्रधानमंत्री डॉ मनमोहन सिंह जी के अंतिम संस्कार के लिए यथोचित स्थान न उपलब्ध कराकर सरकार ने पूर्व प्रधानमंत्री के पद की गरिमा, मनमोहन सिंह जी की शख्सियत, उनकी विरासत और खुद्दार सिख समुदाय के साथ न्याय नहीं किया।
इससे पहले सभी पूर्व प्रधानमंत्रियों को सर्वोच्च सम्मान और…
— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) December 28, 2024
Kejriwal, in a statement, said, “The BJP government could not provide even 1,000 yards of land for the last rites and memorial of Dr Manmohan Singh, who belonged to the Sikh community and was renowned all over the world and was the Prime Minister of India for 10 years?”
Also Read: Two-time PM, Congress stalwart Manmohan Singh cremated with full state honours at Delhi’s Nigambodh Ghat
