Sharmistha Mukherjee slams Congress amid Manmohan Singh memorial row

Sharmistha Mukherjee, daughter of the late former President Pranab Mukherjee, has slammed Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's proposal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a separate memorial built for former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.

Manmohan Singh passed away at the age of 92 on Thursday night due to age-related health issues at Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

The Congress on Friday said that not finding a location for the cremation and memorial of Singh was a deliberate insult to the country's first Sikh prime minister.

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The party raised the issue after the home ministry said Singh's last rites would be held at New Delhi's Nigambodh Ghat at 11.45 am on Saturday with full state honours.

Taking to Twitter/X, Sharmistha highlighted that when her father, Pranab Mukherjee, passed away in August 2020, the Congress leadership did not even organise a condolence meeting by the Congress Working Committee (CWC).

When baba passed away, Congress didnt even bother 2 call CWC 4 condolence meeting. A senior leader told me it’s not done 4 Presidents. Thats utter rubbish as I learned later from baba’s diaries that on KR Narayanan’s death, CWC was called & condolence msg was drafted by baba only https://t.co/nbYCF7NsMB

— Sharmistha Mukherjee (@Sharmistha_GK) December 27, 2024

According to her, when prodded, a senior Congress leader informed her that condolence meetings were not customary for Indian Presidents. She dismissed this explanation as "utter rubbish."

Referring to her father's diaries, she revealed that after the passing of former President K.R. Narayanan, the CWC had convened a meeting, and the condolence message was drafted by none other than Pranab Mukherjee himself.

She also said that building a memorial for Manmoan Singh is a great idea and that he deserves a Bharat Ratna".

Centre issues statement

Amid the controversy, the government will allocate space for a memorial of former prime minister Manmohan Singh and this has been communicated to his family and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, the Union home ministry said in a late-night release on Friday night.

In a release titled "Facts of the matter regarding memorial for Former Prime Minister Late Dr Manmohan Singh", the ministry said the government received a request to allocate space for a memorial for Singh from the Congress chief.

Immediately after the Cabinet meeting, Union Home Minister Amit Shah communicated to Kharge and the family of Manmohan Singh that the government would allocate space for the memorial.