Centre Approves Manmohan Singh's Memorial, BJP Attacks Congress

In a late-night development, the Centre agreed to locate space for a memorial of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after a war of words broke out between the BJP and the Congress. The Congress’s request for the cremation to be held at a separate memorial site was initially denied by the Centre, following which party leader Jairam Ramesh called it a "deliberate insult to India's first Sikh Prime Minister".

In a press release issued later, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that a place for Dr Singh's memorial will be allocated while adding that the cremation and other formalities can go ahead in the meantime.

The row has ensued over a memorial for the former Prime Minister, prompting the BJP to ask Congress not to play dirty politics in his name.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharg, on Friday, spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about exploring the possibility of building a memorial to Manmohan Singh at the same site where the last rites would be held.

The BJP said the Congress should stop playing dirty politics on the death of Dr Singh. "Congress should recall how they treated former PM Narasimha Rao Ji after his death. The daughter of Shri Pranab Mukherjee also has tweeted how shabbily her father, a former President, was treated by the Congress," a party statement read.

Sharmistha also Slams Congress

Sharmistha Mukherjee has criticised Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge's proposal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking a separate memorial for former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. In a statement on X, she claimed that when her father and the former Indian President died in August 2020, the Congress leadership did not even bother to convene a condolence meeting by the Congress Working Committee (CWC). She even accused the Congress leadership of misleading her on this issue during that time.