Hardeep Puri Lashes At Congress' 'Mismanagement' Claim On Manmohan Singh Funeral: 'Huge Disservice To Ex-PM's Memory'
Congress leaders, led by Rahul Gandhi, attacked the centre for holding Singh's cremation ceremony at Delhi's Nigambodh Ghat instead of Rajghat, alleging disrespect to the former PM's legacy.
Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Sunday hit out at the Congress over its allegations of mismanagement at the state funeral of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Puri said that those who are manufacturing a 'parallel narrative' regarding the last rites of Manmohan Singh are doing 'a huge disservice to his memory.'
The Union Minister said that the former prime minister was accorded full state and military honours and attacked Congress for vitiating the poise and dignity of the sombre moment.
"Those who are manufacturing a parallel narrative with regard to the last rites of Sdr Dr Manmohan Singh Ji are doing a huge disservice to his memory and the ethos he embodied as a human being. With his body draped in Tricolour, the late former Prime Minister was accorded full state & military honours, state funeral and a befitting 21 gun salute," Hardeep Singh Puri said in a post on X.
Those who are manufacturing a parallel narrative with regard to the last rites of Sdr Dr Manmohan Singh Ji are doing a huge disservice to his memory and the ethos he embodied as a human being.
— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) December 29, 2024
With his body draped in Tricolour, the late former Prime Minister was accorded full… pic.twitter.com/bYurxjbk4U
"Dr Manmohan Singh Ji will forever remain an inspirational leader for us. We will cherish his memories and values. Those members of the Congress Party who are vitiating the poise and dignity of the sombre moment with controversies and falsehoods should refrain and introspect," he added.
Congress leaders, led by party MP Rahul Gandhi, have attacked the centre for holding Singh's cremation ceremony at Delhi's Nigambodh Ghat instead of Rajghat, alleging disrespect to the former PM's legacy.
Puri said that the decision to cremate Manmohan Singh at Nigambodh Ghat instead of the Raj Ghat was due to logistical challenges and heavy rain.
"The area around Rajghat is flat and prone to water-logging. The weather forecast predicted heavy rain. Ask the Congress if it was possible to erect structures in such conditions in a short time," he said.
He also attacked Congress saying that when Singh's ashes were immersed on Sunday, the party leaders were missing during the ceremony.
"Even today, when his ashes were immersed, our people were there and not the people from Congress. In the days to come, a memorial will be built for sure. I don't think that we should give a free run to those who are creating controversy," he said.
Meanwhile, the ashes of the former prime minister were immersed in the Yamuna river near the Majnu ka Tila Gurdwara by members of his family following Sikh rituals. The ashes were collected from the Nigambodh Ghat on Sunday morning by Singh's family members and later taken to the 'Asth Ghat' on the Yamuna river bank near the gurdwara.
Singh's wife Gursharan Kaur, their three daughters -- Upinder Singh, Daman Singh and Amrit Singh -- along with other relatives were present at the immersion site. The former prime minister was accorded a state funeral at the Nigambodh Ghat on Saturday.
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