Congress Battles BJP for Manmohan Singh's Memorial Tribute

Rajesh Thakur and Navjot Singh Sidhu criticize BJP for not providing a memorial site for former PM Manmohan Singh's cremation. Congress demands respect for Singh's legacy, highlighting its importance to national history. The Centre promises to allocate land for a memorial soon.

Rajesh Thakur, the former Jharkhand Congress chief, launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government on Saturday. Thakur accused the ruling party of disrespecting former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh by not agreeing to hold his cremation at a site dedicated for a memorial. He emphasized Singh's contributions to nation-building and economic stability, questioning the BJP's political motives for not providing a memorial space.

Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu also confronted the BJP, suggesting they would have felt differently had the situation involved their own leader, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Sidhu underscored that this matter extends beyond partisan politics, encapsulating the essence of the nation's history. He argued that death should erase enmity, yet politics has overshadowed the decorum typically observed in such circumstances.

Despite Congress's insistence on a specific funeral site, the Centre assured that land would be allocated for a memorial for Dr. Singh shortly. Notably, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge had formally requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to consider a suitable location for Singh's memorialization. Meanwhile, Singh received a state funeral with full military honors at Nigam Bodh Ghat, a public cremation ground in North Delhi, on Saturday.

(With inputs from agencies.)