Future generations will get inspiration from Manmohan Singh’s memorial: Amarinder Singh Raja Warring

New Delhi [India], December 28 (ANI): Congress MP and the party’s Punjab chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring on Saturday said that the future generations will get inspiration from the memorial to be built for the former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

“We are demanding that the Central Government should provide space for the memorial. If space could be given to Atal Bihari Vajpayee, then why not Manmohan Singh? He was the only Sikh Prime Minister of the country,” Warring told ANI.

“When a memorial will be built, the future generations will get inspiration,” he added.

Congress leader Navjot Sidhu said that the memorial was not a question of politics but that of the history of the nation.

“Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu says, “When a person dies, all enmity vanishes with him… but politics is being played here. I ask a small question if Atal Ji’s last rites were to be performed and someone had said that the memorial would not be built at Raj Ghat, it would be built somewhere else, how would you feel?… This issue is not of any party but of the country’s history,” he said.

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi on Saturday launched a scathing attack on Congress for indulging in “politics” over the demise of Dr Manmohan Singh. He said that Congress never respected the former PM.

Trivedi said it was Congress’ history that they never respected any leader outside the Gandhi family. “At least today, in this hour of grief, politics should be avoided,” he said, adding that the Modi government has respected all leaders irrespective of the party affiliation by giving Bharat Ratna to former Prime Ministers PV Narsimha Rao, Madan Mohan Malviya and former President Pranab Mukherjee.

“It is saddening that the Congress party, which never respected Dr Manmohan Singh in their lifetime, today even after his death, they are seen doing politics. I want to remind the country that Dr Manmohan Singh was the first Prime Minister of the country outside the Nehru Gandhi family who held the post of Prime Minister for 10 years. It has been Congress’ history that they have never respected any leader outside the Gandhi family – from Sardar Patel, Lal Bahadur Shastri to PV Narsimha Rao. At least today, in this hour of grief, politics should be avoided. As far as our government is concerned, the Modi government has given respect to all the leaders by rising above party feelings. We have given Bharat Ratna to three Congress leaders including Narsimha Rao, Madan Mohan Malaviya, and Pranab Mukherjee,” Trivedi told ANI.

Earlier, Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah over the phone and requested to have the funeral of Dr Manmohan Singh at a place where his memorial can be built.

Immediately after the Cabinet meeting on Friday, Home Minister Amit Shah communicated to Congress President 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.

Dr Singh’s political career spanned several decades, with notable positions including Finance Minister from 1991 to 1996, during which he spearheaded economic reforms that transformed India’s economy. He served as the 13th Prime Minister of India from 2004 to 2014, succeeding Atal Bihari Vajpayee. His tenure is particularly remembered for his steady leadership during economic crises and his contributions to modernizing India’s economy.

After his second term, Dr Singh retired from public life, having led India through a period of unprecedented growth and international recognition. He was succeeded by Narendra Modi in 2014 after the Congress-led UPA lost the general elections.