The former prime minister Manmohan Singh, credited with India’s economic liberalisation, will be given a complete state send-off in the capital today. At 9:At 11 pm of the 30, he will leave the Congress headquarters for the last time. On Friday, a number of senior politicians went to Singh’s home in New Delhi, including Union ministers, Congress top brass Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Other dignitaries and even chief ministers from different countries also paid tributes to the late leader.
The Congress party has asked the central government to choose a particular location for Singh’s memorial. Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah confirmed that space would be set aside for a memorial while allowing funeral arrangements to take place after speaking with party chief Mallikarjun Kharge. Before the procession starts, Singh’s body will be taken to the Congress headquarters at 8 AM so that members of the public and party employees can pay their respects. The funeral will take place at Nigam Bodh Ghat Crematorium at 11:45 AM.
Police have arranged traffic signals and put signals and diversions in places like Raja Ram Kohli Marg and Rajghat Red Light for the state funeral. In this case, the following roads will be restricted from 7 AM to 3 PM. The National flag will remain at half mast during the mourning period across the nation and all the Indian missions abroad up to January 1. Every head of department, all central government offices and public sector undertakings are requested to remain closed for half a day today. Official mourning has also been observed in many states among them are Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana.
Prime Minister Modi’s Union Cabinet offered condolences on Friday, calling Singh a distinguished leader and a great statesman. Modi reflected on Singh’s journey in a video message, highlighting his contributions to India’s progress and his legacy of integrity and simplicity. The Congress Working Committee lamented Singh as a “true statesman” whose contributions profoundly influenced India’s course. They emphasised his importance in laying the foundation for the nation’s economic liberalisation as Finance Minister in the early 1990s.
Along with BJP President JP Nadda, Union Ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh also paid their respects. Several state leaders, including Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, paid their final respects. In remembrance of their diplomatic interactions with Singh, foreign dignitaries such as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and French President Emmanuel Macron expressed their condolences. Manmohan Singh, a renowned economist who led India through a financial crisis in 1991, was Prime Minister from 2004 until his death. Significant economic growth and improvements in infrastructure and social welfare were hallmarks of his leadership.
