New Delhi:

Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the issue of allocation of space for a memorial for former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and accused the ruling party of “playing politics.”

Attacking BJP further, Mr Sidhu asked how had the party felt if former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee had not got a memorial at Rajghat. He further said that this issue is not of one party but of the entire country’s history.

Speaking to reporters, Mr Sidhu said, “When a person dies, all enmity vanishes with him… but politics is being played here. I ask a small question if Atal Ji’s last rites were to be performed and someone had said that the memorial would not be built at Raj Ghat, it would be built somewhere else, how would you feel?… This issue is not of any party but of the country’s history…”

Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh slammed the BJP-led central government on the issue of allocation of space for a memorial for Dr Singh, saying that it is unfortunate that leaders even have to talk about this issue.

Mr Singh asked the government to tell the name of any former PM whose last rites were performed at Nigambodh Ghat and not in the Rajghat premises.

Speaking to ANI, Sanjay Singh said, “It is unfortunate that we even have to talk about this. This shows how obnoxious the government’s thinking is… I want to ask PM Narendra Modi, why are you not ready to give space for PM Manmohan Singh’s last rites in the Rajghat premises? This party calls itself the most cultured? Tell me the name of one former PM whose last rites were performed in Nigambodh… How disrespected the Sikh community must feel…”

Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa said, “This is not an issue at all, PM Modi’s government should have thought about it beforehand. The whole country wants that his last rites should be performed at the same place where his memorial is to be built. This demand is not just of Congress, not just of Punjab and Sikh community, this is a worldwide demand of all Indians. There is no need to think about it, the government should have thought about it beforehand…”

Earlier today, BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi launched a scathing attack on Congress for indulging in “politics” over the demise of Dr Manmohan Singh. He said that Congress never respected the former PM.

Mr Trivedi said it was Congress’ history that they never respected any leader outside the Gandhi family.

“At least today, in this hour of grief, politics should be avoided,” he said, adding that the Modi government has respected all leaders irrespective of the party affiliation by giving Bharat Ratna to former Prime Ministers PV Narasimha Rao, Madan Mohan Malviya and former President Pranab Mukherjee.

On Friday, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah over the phone and requested to have the funeral of Manmohan Singh at a place where his memorial can be built, according to a post by the Indian National Congress on X.

“I am writing this in the context of the sad demise of Dr Manmohan Singh, former Prime Minister of India. Apropos our telephonic conversation this morning, wherein I requested to hold Dr Manmohan Singh’s last rites, which will take place tomorrow i.e. 28th December 2024, at his final resting place that would be a sacrosanct venue for the memorial of the great son of India. This is in keeping with such tradition of having memorials of statesmen and former Prime Ministers at the very place of their funerals,” Mr Kharge wrote in his letter.

Immediately after the Cabinet meeting, Home Minister Amit Shah communicated to Mr Kharge and the family of late Manmohan Singh that the Government will allocate space for the memorial.

“In the meanwhile, cremation and other formalities can happen because a trust has to be formed and space has to be allocated to it,” the government said.

Manmohan Singh died on Thursday at the age of 92 due to age-related medical conditions. He had a sudden loss of consciousness at home after which he was rushed to AIIMS, Delhi.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Dr Manmohan Singh’s last rites will be performed today around 11:45 am on Saturday. The Centre has declared a seven-day state mourning throughout the country as a mark of respect to Dr Singh. During this period, the national flag will be flown half-mast across India.

The Congress has also declared that all official programs of the party, including the Foundation Day celebration will be cancelled for the next seven days and will resume on January 3.

A row has erupted between the Centre and Congress over the allotment of space for Dr Singh’s memorial. The Congress condemned the allocation of the Nigambodh Ghat for the final rituals instead of a location where a memorial could be built in his honour.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about exploring the possibility of building a memorial for Dr Singh at the same site where the last rites would be held. “Apropos our telephonic conversation this morning, wherein I made a request to hold Dr Manmohan Singh’s last rites, which will take place tomorrow i.e. 28th December 2024, at his final resting place that would be a sacrosanct venue for a memorial of the great son of India. This is in keeping with such tradition of having memorials of statesmen and former prime ministers at the very place of their funerals,” Mr Kharge wrote in a letter on Friday.

However, BJP spokesperson CR Kesavan hit back at Congress, calling the party’s behaviour “ironic”. “It is indeed ironic that a Congress President is writing to PM Narendra Modi ji about traditions and the funeral place becoming the sacrosanct venue for a memorial. One should remind Kharge ji how the Congress-led UPA government never built a memorial in Delhi for former PM Narasimha Rao ji, who passed away in 2004,” he said.

The Centre also clarified that it will allocate a space for Dr Singh’s memorial – which was also conveyed to Mr Kharge and Dr Singh’s family. However, it said that in the meantime, cremation and other formalities can take place because a “trust has to be formed and space has to be allocated”.

Sharmistha Mukherjee, the daughter of former President late Pranab Mukherjee, criticised Mr Kharge over the party’s demand for a separate memorial for the former Prime Minister. 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). According to her, a senior leader of the Congress told her that memorials are not held for Indian Presidents. 

Manmohan Singh died of age-related medical complications at the age of 92 on Thursday night. He had been in poor health for the last few months. Known as the ‘architect of India’s economic reforms’, Dr Singh was the PM for two terms in the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government from 2004 to 2014.

Born in 1932, Dr Singh studied at the University of Cambridge in the UK where he earned a First Class Honours degree in Economics in 1957. He also had a degree in Economics from Nuffield College at Oxford University. Dr Singh became a member of the Rajya Sabha in 1991 and was the Leader of the Opposition between 1998 and 2004. He was awarded India’s second-highest civilian honour, the Padma Vibhushan, in 1987.

Many world leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, Canada’s former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim, have expressed condolences over the death of Dr Singh.