New Delhi:
In May 2004 Congress leader Manmohan Singh was sworn in as Prime Minister – a position he would hold for the next decade – but the soft-spoken and erudite economist, who made headlines steering the nation through the 1991 economic reforms as Finance Minister, was a pick straight out of left field, a surprise nomination for a post many believed had Sonia Gandhi’s name all over it.
Mrs Gandhi, though, had other ideas, though she kept quiet about them for the next 14 years.
In March 2014, at an event in Mumbai, the veteran Congress leader finally opened up.
“I knew my limitations… I knew Manmohan Singh would be a better Prime Minister…”
Sure, there were many questions.
Did condemnation of Mrs Gandhi’s Italian heritage give her pause from taking the job? Would Dr Singh have become Prime Minister if Rajiv Gandhi was not assassinated in 1991? Did appeals by her children, understandably worried by the prospect of a mother ascending to a post that had claimed their father and grandmother, sway her? Was there dissent within the Congress’ ranks?
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But Mrs Gandhi waved these aside, trusting her “inner voice” and Manmohan Singh.
Dr Singh’s time as Prime Minister was marked by successes and scandals, challenges were overcome and corruption scams red-flagged, and an avalanche of criticism from the Congress’ detractors, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party. And among the most frequently used bullet in those attacks was the charge that Manmohan Singh, then 71 years old, was a ‘puppet’ Prime Minister.
The Congress stalwart would always refuse to be drawn on those jabs, gently brushing aside criticism and questions to focus on what mattered most to him – the country and its people.
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The legacy Dr Singh left behind – from laying a strong foundation for the economy to securing the India-United States nuclear deal, and from enacting rural jobs schemes to the Right to Education Act for children – gave his successor, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an enviable platform from which to build.
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And yet, his legacy will also include the many jabs and barbs, including ‘silent PM’, ‘reluctant PM’, and ‘accidental PM’, tossed at him from rival politicians, none of which seemed – at least publicly, for what confidences he may have shared with his wife, we may never know – to faze Dr Singh.
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For he himself preferred to leave judgement of his career to the annals of history. In 2014 he said, in his typical dry but sharp humour, “I honestly believe that history will be kinder to me than the contemporary media, or for that matter, the opposition parties in Parliament.”
And today, 92 years later, history will have the chance to do just that.
For Dr Manmohan Singh died late Thursday at Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
News of Dr Singh’s death was met with an outpouring of grief, not just from within the Congress – party boss Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra posted heartfelt tributes – but also across parties, including from the BJP.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi – who, in February this year, hailed Dr Singh as an “inspiration to lawmakers” as he retired from the Rajya Sabha – mourned his loss, and paid his final respects to his predecessor at his Delhi residence this morning.
“Dr Manmohan Singhji and I interacted regularly… We had extensive deliberations on various subjects relating to governance. His wisdom and humility were always visible. In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the family of Dr Manmohan Singhji, his friends and countless admirers. Om Shanti.”
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Dr Singh’s death has also been felt across the world, with former heads of state, particularly his contemporaries, such as former United States President Barack Obama and ex-Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel, remembering him as a scholar and a gentleman.
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