Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s last rites were held with full state honours today at the Nigambodh Ghat, a public cremation ground in Delhi. Several politicians, including President Droupadi Murmu and PM Narendra Modi, attended the funeral.
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- Dr Manmohan Singh’s last rites were held today, with President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, and Rahul Gandhi, among others attending the ceremony. Dr Singh’s body was first taken to the Congress headquarters in the national capital.
- The Centre declared a seven-day state mourning throughout the country as a mark of respect to Dr Singh. During this period, the national flag will be flown at half-mast across India. Congress party has also declared that all official programs of the party, including the Foundation Day celebration, will be cancelled for the next seven days and will resume on January 3.
- Dr Manmohan Singh’s wife Gursharan Kaur and his daughter Daman Singh on Saturday paid their last respects to him at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters in the national capital.
- Several politicians including Congress MP and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi, Wayanad Lok Sabha MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar also paid last respects to Singh.
- Several people also gathered outside the residence of the former Prime Minister in Delhi to pay their last respects. Jasmeet, a resident of East Delhi, said that she had come with her husband to pay tribute to Manmohan Singh who she credits for making India famous globally.
- Manmohan Singh passed away on Thursday due to age-related medical complications. He was 92. He had been in poor health for the last few months. Known as the ‘architect of India’s economic reforms’, Dr Singh was the PM for two terms in the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government from 2004 to 2014.
- Born in 1932, Dr Singh studied at the University of Cambridge in the UK where he earned a First Class Honours degree in Economics in 1957. He also had a degree in Economics from Nuffield College at Oxford University. Dr Singh became a member of the Rajya Sabha in 1991 and was the Leader of the Opposition between 1998 and 2004. He was awarded India’s second-highest civilian honour, the Padma Vibhushan, in 1987.