New Delhi: Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s mortal remains were cremated with full state honours at Nigambodh Ghat, New Delhi on Saturday in the presence of top national leaders and foreign dignitaries including PM Modi, President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar, Bhutan’s King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and several others.
Manmohan Singh, who led the country as Prime Minister from 2004 to 2014, was one of the architects of India’s economic liberalization and will be remembered for his intellect,
simplicity and calmness.
Singh’s eldest daughter Upinder Singh lit the funeral pyre amid the chanting of religious hymns. Sikh priests and Singh’s family members recited verses from Gurbani before his last rites.
Before his mortal remains were consigned to the flames, a 21-gun salute was given in his honour.
The funeral was attended by several top profile leaders including Defence Minister Rajnat Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP President JP Nadda, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, several Chief Ministers, Ambassadors of several countries and others who paid their last tributes to the former prime minister at the crematorium.
Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, and the three services Chiefs also paid their last respects to the former PM.
Draped in the tricolour, the flower-bedecked casket was placed at a raised platform, where leaders cutting across party lines laid wreaths on Singh’s mortal remains.
The final journey of the former PM began from the Congress headquarters where his mortal remains were kept inside the party headquarters for about an hour in the morning.
After that, at around 10 AM a flower-bedecked vehicle carrying the mortal remains of Singh left the headquarters amid chants on ‘Manmohan Singh Amar rahe.’ He passed away on Thursday night at Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences due to age-related medical complications. He was 92. In his passing, India loses not just a former prime minister, but a statesman whose example will continue to inspire generations.
Acknowledging his achievements that has benefited millions of Indians, the Union government has agreed to identify a space for a memorial dedicated to him.
A seven-day national mourning is being observed throughout the country as a mark of respect to the former prime minister during which the national flag will be flown at half-mast across the nation, the Union Home Ministry has announced.