Manmohan Singh death: The last rites of former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh will be performed at Nigam Bodh Ghat on December 28. He will be cremated with full state honours at 11:45 am on Saturday.
The Defence Ministry will make arrangements for a state funeral with full military honours.
The Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Friday paid glowing tributes to former prime minister Manmohan Singh, saying he was a towering figure in India’s political and economic landscape whose contributions transformed the country and earned him respect worldwide.
In the condolence resolution passed at the meeting, the CWC mourned the loss of a “true statesman” whose life and work have profoundly shaped the destiny of India.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, and Congress general secretaries Jairam Ramesh, K C Venugopal and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra among others met here at the AICC headquarters for a meeting of the CWC to pay homage to Singh.
“Dr. Singh was a towering figure in India’s political and economic landscape, whose contributions transformed the country and earned him respect worldwide. As Finance Minister in the early 1990s, Dr. Singh was the architect of India’s economic liberalization,” the CWC resolution read.
Manmohan Singh demise
Manmohan Singh passed away at AIIMS, Delhi, on Thursday evening at the age of 92 due to age-related medical conditions. He had experienced a sudden loss of consciousness at home and was subsequently rushed to the hospital.
Born on September 26, 1932, Singh was not only an economist but also served as the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India from 1982 to 1985. He was India’s 13th Prime Minister, serving from 2004 to 2014. As Finance Minister in PV Narasimha Rao’s government, Singh spearheaded the landmark economic liberalisation of 1991, which opened up the Indian economy to foreign investment, increased FDI, and reduced government control, significantly accelerating the nation’s economic growth.
During his tenure as prime minister, his government introduced several transformative policies, including the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), later renamed MGNREGA, which provided a legal guarantee for wage employment.
In 2005, Singh’s leadership also saw the passage of the Right to Information Act (RTI), enhancing transparency and accountability between the government and the public. Manmohan Singh retired from the Rajya Sabha earlier this year after serving for 33 years.
