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Manmohan Singh's demise: Amit Shah’s Odisha visit postponed
Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s scheduled two-day visit to Odisha from Saturday has been postponed after the Centre declared a seven-day mourning in honour of former prime minister Manmohan Singh, a BJP leader said here.
Shah was scheduled to attend a programme of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and hold a meeting with BJP MPs, MLAs and workers at an event in Kalinga Stadium here on December 29 along with some other programmes.
"The visit of the union home minister has been postponed due to the demise of former prime minister Manmohan Singh," BJP's Jajpur MP Rabindra Narayan Behera said on Friday.
The central government has declared a seven-day mourning in memory of Singh, who died on Thursday night.
The government programmes, especially festivals scheduled for the seven days, have been cancelled, the BJP leader said.
Locals recall Manmohan Singh's special bond with Amritsar
It has been a long time since Manmohan Singh lived in Amritsar. The family house is dilapidated and empty, the memories of many fading but the bond with the former prime minister is recollected with fondness and nostalgia.
Born in 1932 at Gah in Punjab province which now falls in Pakistan's Chakwal district, the Singh family migrated to Amritsar after Partition in 1948 after a short stint in Haldwani.
Singh completed his intermediate and graduation in economics from the Hindu College here before moving out of the city to pursue higher studies in Panjab University's Hoshiarpur campus.
Singh's half-brother from his father's extended family, Surjit Singh Kohli, who ran a readymade garment business in Amritsar, said the former prime minister had deep affection for his grandmother who raised him following his mother's death when he was very young.
"Manmohan Singh shared a deep attachment with Amritsar. He used to visit the Golden Temple every time he came to the holy city," Surjit Kohli said.
After migrating, the Singh family settled at a small rented house in Amritsar till he graduated.
Stating that economics was his favourite subject, retired professor of Hindu College, Rajinder Loomba, recalled that his wife Gursharan Kaur's parents also belonged to the holy city.
A few years ago, Singh attended the convocation-cum-alumni meet of Hindu College as the chief guest and interacted with the college staff like an ordinary person, reminiscing old memories, Loomba said.
Singh talked about the teachers who taught him at the college besides interacting and clicking photographs with the students and faculty members, he recalled.
Raj Kumar (71), a local resident, told PTI that Singh used to live in Petha Wala Bazaar near the Golden Temple.
Recalling Singh as a very humble person, Kumar said, "Dr Singh used to live here. I was a child when his family shifted out. It was a very nice family." The house where the Singh family lived is in a dilapidated state now as no one stays there since they moved out a long time ago, Kumar said.
Some other locals recalled Manmohan Singh as a man who always took special pain for Amritsar, saying the UPA government headed by him got several projects sanctioned for the holy city.
Manmohan Singh preferred his Maruti 800 over BMW: UP minister recalls experience with former PM
Manmohan Singh preferred his modest Maruti Suzuki 800 over luxury BMWs even when holding the office of prime minister as it reaffirmed his connection with the middle class and commitment to work for the common man.
Singh's humility and grounded nature were highlighted in a heartfelt social media memoir by Uttar Pradesh Minister of State for Social Welfare (Independent Charge) Asim Arun, a former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer who worked as Singh's chief bodyguard for almost three years.
He shared the note on social media shortly after the 92-year-old Singh passed away late on Thursday at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi.
Arun, who served as Singh's close protection officer for nearly three years during his tenure in the Special Protection Group (SPG), shared his experiences and insights into Singh's personality, emphasising his simple lifestyle and connection with the common man.
Recalling his role as head of the SPG's Close Protection Team (CPT) for the prime minister, Arun said, "As the AIG CPT, my responsibility was to stay with the prime minister at all times, like his shadow. If only one bodyguard could stay with him, it had to be me." One anecdote Arun shared reflected Singh's simplicity -- his attachment to his personal car, a modest Maruti Suzuki 800.
Despite having a fleet of high-security vehicles, including a luxurious BMW, for official travel, Singh would often express his preference for the modest car.
Arun recalled Singh telling him, "Asim, I don't like travelling in this car (BMW). My car is the Maruti." He said he would explain to Singh the security requirements of the high-tech BMW but the former prime minister's gaze would always turn to the Maruti Suzuki 800 as his motorcade passed by it.
"It was as if he was reaffirming his identity as a middle-class man and his commitment to caring for the common man. While the BMW might symbolise the grandeur of the prime minister's position, in his heart, he saw the Maruti as his car," Arun added.
While talking to PTI Videos, Arun recalled that Singh's car -- a constant emotional connection to his modest roots -- was maintained inside the compound of the prime minister's residence.
"Dr Singh couldn't drive his Maruti Suzuki 800 due to protocol and my responsibility included starting the car daily and running it briefly within the prime minister's residence," he revealed.