Sharmistha Mukherjee, the daughter of former President Pranab Mukherjee and a former Congress leader, has criticized the party for demanding a separate memorial space for former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh while neglecting to convene a Working Committee meeting to mourn her father's passing. She revealed that a senior Congress leader dismissed the proposal, stating that such meetings were not customary for former Presidents.
"When baba passed away, Congress didnt even bother 2 call CWC 4 condolence meeting. A senior leader told me it’s not done 4 Presidents. Thats utter rubbish as I learned later from baba’s diaries that on KR Narayanan’s death, CWC was called & condolence msg was drafted by baba only", said Sharmistha Mukherjee in a post X.
However, she acknowledged that former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh deserves a separate memorial space. "Having said that, a memorial for Dr. Singh is a great idea. He deserves it, as well as the Bharat Ratna, which my father, as President, wanted to confer on him. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, perhaps due to two reasons that don’t need to be spelt out," she remarked.
Also Read| Centre to Allocate Space for Dr. Manmohan Singh’s Memorial After Congress Request.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge had approached Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, requesting a resting place for Manmohan Singh that would also serve as a memorial, in line with the tradition of honoring distinguished statesmen.