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Informist, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024

NEW DELHI - Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was cremated with full state honours at Delhi's Nigambodh Ghat on Saturday. Singh's mortal remains, draped in the tricolour, were first taken to the All India Congress Committee's headquarters from his residence, where several dignitaries, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, paid their final tribute to the departed soul.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, and Bharatiya Janata Party President J.P. Nadda, among many other top dignitaries, paid their last respect to the former prime minister.

Singh, 92, breathed his last on Thursday at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences where he was rushed to the emergency department late that evening owing to sudden loss of consciousness. He was declared dead nearly a couple of hours later after efforts to revive him failed.

Singh, an economist, was the fourth longest-serving prime minister who held office for two consecutive terms from 2004 to 2014. He was also the first prime minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to be re-elected after completing a full five-year term.

Singh was widely hailed as the architect of the 1991 economic reforms. He played a pivotal role as finance minister in 1991 by liberalising the Indian economy at the time of crisis. Singh also served as the governor of the Reserve Bank of India, chief economic adviser and head of the Planning Commission. After completing his doctorate in economics from Oxford, Singh worked for the United Nations from 1966-69. As Prime Minister, Singh is credited with clinching the landmark India-US nuclear trade deal and for launching several popular social welfare measures, particularly the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.

Singh's political journey began in 1991 when he was elected to the Rajya Sabha. He also served as the leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha from 1998 to 2004. In May 2004, Singh took oath as the first Sikh prime minister of India in the United Progressive Alliance government. His government was re-elected in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls and he served as the prime minister till 2014.

The Centre Friday declared a seven-day state mourning throughout the country as a mark of respect to Singh. During this period, the national flag will be flown at half-mast across India. All government programmes scheduled for Friday were cancelled. The Congress declared that all official programmes of the party, including the Foundation Day celebrations, stand cancelled for the next seven days and will resume only on January 3.  End

Reported by Shahid K. Abbas

Edited by Deepshikha Bhardwaj

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