Both the Congress party and Narendra Modi-led union government are locked in a controversy over the place of former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s cremation. While the Congress wanted Singh’s cremation at a place where a memorial could be built in his honour, the government decided on Nigambodh Ghat on Saturday.
Amid stand-off between the Congress and BJP, the Central government said on Friday night that it had agreed to a Congress request for allocation of space for a memorial to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The government announcement came hours after the Congress alleged that its request for a resting place in Delhi for Singh had not been honoured by the government.
In a late night statement, the Ministry of Home Affairs said: “Today morning, the Government received a request to allocate space for a memorial for former Prime Minister Late Dr Manmohan Singh, from the Congress Party President”.
“ Immediately after the Cabinet meeting, HM Shri Amit Shah communicated to Congress President Shri Kharge and the family of Late Dr Manmohan Singh that the Government will allocate space for the memorial. In the meanwhile, cremation and other formalities can happen because a trust has to be formed and space has to be allocated to it,” it added.
Incidentally, it was the UPA government headed by Singh that had blocked demands for separate memorials. In 2013, the UPA Cabinet decided to set up a common memorial ground – the Rashtriya Smriti Sthal at Raj Ghat – in view of paucity of space.
On Friday morning, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and conveyed his party’s desire. He also followed it up with a letter to the PM. Separately, AICC general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and K C Venugopal broached the topic with Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
By late evening, Congress leaders said the government has not acceded to the request and they are given to understand that the cremation will take place at the Nigambodh Ghat. Congress communication head Jairam Ramesh said this is nothing but a deliberate insult to the first Sikh Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh.
The Congress’s desire to have a separate resting place for Singh is notable as it is often accused of ignoring its stalwarts outside the Nehru-Gandhi family and playing down their contributions to the country. The Congress and the Gandhi family still carry the stigma of humiliating former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao after his death.
For years, the Congress refused to acknowledge Rao’s role in opening up the Indian economy, the biggest reform in India since Independence. Rao was the first PM outside the Nehru-Gandhi family to complete a full term in office.
And, he continues to be the only Congress PM who does not have a separate resting place in the Capital. His body was not even allowed inside the 24, Akbar Road headquarters of the AICC when he died in December 2004, with his cortege forced to park on the pavement outside the main gate.
Rao finally got a memorial in 2015, 10 years after his demise. The NDA government built a memorial ghat for Rao at Ekta Sthal Samadhi Complex on the grounds that he was entitled to state honours as a former PM. The BJP government awarded the Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian honour, to Rao earlier this year.