The Congress party seems to be unhappy with Ministry of Home Affairs’ (MHA) decision of performing Late Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s last rites at Delhi’s Nigambodh Ghat on Saturday. The grand old party criticised the central government calling it a ‘deliberate insult’ to India’s first Sikh Prime Minister.
During a Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, MP Priyanka Gandhi reportedly suggested using a part of Veer Bhumi or Shakti Sthal for Dr Manmohan Singh’s last rites. The proposal aimed to allow the site to serve as a memorial as well.
However, the request faced delays. Despite Congress’ push, the government confirmed Nigambodh Ghat crematorium as the venue for the funeral. There has not been any official announcement from the government about setting up a memorial yet.
What Are Congress’ Demands
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to conduct the last rites of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at a location where a memorial can be built.
In a letter, Kharge wrote, “I am writing this in the context of the sad demise of Dr. Manmohan Singh, former Prime Minister of India. Apropos our telephonic conversation this morning, wherein I requested 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 the memorial of the great son of India. This is in keeping with such tradition of having memorials of statesmen and former Prime Ministers at the very place of their funerals.”
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh expressed disappointment over the decision, questioning why a more suitable location for cremation and a memorial was not considered.
“This is nothing but a deliberate insult to the first Sikh Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh,” part of Jairam Ramesh’s ‘X’ post read.
Rule Under Congress-led UPA Govt
The political row emerged after Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to PM Narendra Modi appealing for a separate memorial of Dr Singh even though previous Congress-led governments established a common memorial, Rashtriya Smriti Sthal, for the cremation of VVIPs.
This site, located between the memorials of Jawaharlal Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri, has been the location for the last rites of former Prime Ministers since its inauguration in 2013. Former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee was also cremated there in 2018.
The Congress party’s current demand for a separate memorial for Dr Singh stands in contrast to the UPA government’s earlier stance when it rejected proposals for individual memorials for former Prime Ministers.
