Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to the Centre, requesting a designated space for a memorial for Dr. Manmohan Singh, the two-time Prime Minister of India. In a late-night development, the Centre agreed to allocate space for a memorial after a war of words erupted between the BJP and the Congress.
The Congress party had originally requested a separate memorial site for Dr. Singh’s cremation, but the Centre denied the request. In response, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh called it a “deliberate insult to India’s first Sikh Prime Minister.”
In a late-night statement titled “Facts of the Matter Regarding Memorial for Former Prime Minister Late Dr. Manmohan Singh,” the Ministry of Home Affairs confirmed that they had received the Congress’s request for a memorial. The statement noted that after the Union Cabinet meeting, Union Home Minister Amit Shah communicated to Mallikarjun Kharge and the Singh family that the government would indeed allocate space for a memorial.
However, the ministry clarified that the finalization of the location and allocation would require the formation of a Trust, which would oversee the process. In the meantime, the cremation and other formalities were to continue, as per the initial plan.
Dr. Manmohan Singh, who served as Prime Minister from 2004 to 2014 and is credited with major economic reforms, passed away on Thursday at the age of 92. The Congress had raised concerns after the Home Ministry announced that Dr. Singh’s last rites would take place at Nigambodh Ghat in New Delhi on Saturday at 11:45 AM, with full state honours.
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Congress leaders have expressed their displeasure, arguing that not providing a specific location for the cremation and memorial was a disrespectful gesture towards the nation's first Sikh Prime Minister.