“He is among those leaders whose place should be in Rajghat”: SP MP Awadhesh Prasad over memorial space row

Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh) [India], December 28 (ANI): Paying respect to former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, who passed away on Thursday evening, Samajwadi Party MP Awadhesh Prasad urged the central government to dedicate a site in Rajghat for the cremation of the former prime minister.

“… He is among those leaders whose place should be in Rajghat… I hope the BJP does not narrow down their ideology… dedicates a site so that the people continue to bow down to him… We (the Samajwadi Party) insist to the Prime Minister and Home Minister that there is no negligence in this respect,” Awadhesh Prasad told ANI in Saturday.

Earlier, Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party over the issue of allocation of space for a memorial for former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and accused the ruling party of “playing politics.”

Attacking the BJP further, Sidhu asked how the party would have felt if Atal Bihari Vajpayee had not gotten a memorial at Rajghat. He further said that this issue is not of one party but of the entire country’s history.

Speaking to reporters, Sidhu said, “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…”

Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh slammed the BJP-led central government on the issue of allocation of space for a memorial for former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saying that it is unfortunate that leaders even have to talk about this issue.

Speaking to ANI, Sanjay Singh said, “It is unfortunate that we even have to talk about this. This shows how obnoxious the government’s thinking is… I want to ask PM Narendra Modi, why are you not ready to give space for PM Manmohan Singh’s last rites in the Rajghat premises? This party calls itself the most cultured? Tell me the name of one former PM whose last rites were performed in Nigambodh… How disrespected the Sikh community must feel…”

Earlier today, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi 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 party affiliation by giving the Bharat Ratna to former Prime Ministers PV Narsimha Rao, Madan Mohan Malviya and former President Pranab Mukherjee.

On Friday, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah over the phone and requested to have the funeral of Manmohan Singh at a place where his memorial can be built, according to a post by the Indian National Congress on X.

Immediately after the Cabinet meeting, Home Minister Amit Shah communicated to Congress President Kharge and the family of late 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.

Manmohan Singh passed away at AIIMS, Delhi, on Thursday at the age of 92 due to age-related medical conditions. He had a sudden loss of consciousness at home, after which he was rushed to the hospital.