New Delhi: Former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh was cremated with full state honours at New Delhi’s Nigambodh Ghat on Saturday. President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Health Minister JP Nadda, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge were among those present for Singh’s last rites.
The King of Bhutan and the Foreign Minister of Mauritius arrived in India for the funeral. Manmohan Singh’s mortal remains were taken from his residence to the Congress’s Akbar Road headquarters in New Delhi at 8am on Saturday, where the public paid their respects to the former PM.
At around 10 am, a funeral procession proceeded to Nigambodh Ghat. Singh was laid to rest with full State honours at 12:50PM.
The Union home ministry on Friday said that the government will allocate space for a memorial of former prime minister Manmohan Singh. The ministry announced that this was communicated to Singh’s family and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who had urged that former PM Manmohan Singh’s last rites be held at a place where a memorial can be built.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first people to express his condolences after Singh’s departure. The PM took to his X account and in a series of posts, reminisced Singh’s contributions towards making India an economically strong nation.
Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjuna Kharge followed suit, remembering Singh’s contributions towards the Indian National Congress and India. Global leaders including US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin also paid their respects to India’s quiet reformer.
Singh, who served as India’s 13th Prime Minister under the United Progressive alliance from 2004-2014. Singh, an economist by profession, was termed as a prodigy, who saved India from an economic catastrophe in 1992. He was serving as India’s Finance Minister at the time.
The Ministry of Home Affairs in a statement had confirmed that the former Indian state head would receive state honours during his last rites. “It has been decided by the Government that State funeral will be accorded to Dr. Manmohan Singh. The funeral will take place at 11:45 am on 28th December, 2024 at Nigambodh Ghat, New Delhi,” said the MHA in a statement.
MHA on Friday said the government will allocate space for a memorial of India’s 13th Prime Minister. Manmohan Singh passed away on Thursday night, at AIIMS in New Delhi. He was 92. Following his departure, the government announced a 7-day mourning period to pay homage to Singh.
Singh was a Member of Parliament till April, 2024. He was never elected to the Lok Sabha but was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1991 by the legislature of the state of Assam, and was re-elected in 1995, 2001, 2007 and 2013 to later represent Rajasthan.
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