New Delhi:
The centre has offered land to Manmohan Singh’s family in the Rajghat complex to build a memorial for the former prime minister who died in December, government sources have told NDTV, adding that the plot is next to the memorial of Pranab Mukherjee, former Congress leader who was the president when Mr Singh was prime minister.
The government is waiting for the family to build a trust and land will be allocated once it’s formed, sources said. The government will provide Rs 25 lakh to the trust to build the memorial, they added.
Mr Singh is known for leaving a lasting impact on the country’s economic landscape. He was the finance minister in 1991 when India witnessed groundbreaking reforms that opened the country’s economy to the world. He served as the prime minister during 2004-2014.
After his death on December 26 last year, the Congress slammed the government for not being able to find a suitable location for Mr Singh’s memorial. Hitting back, the BJP reminded the Congress that it never built a memorial for PV Narasimha Rao.
As the controversy raged, the government last month allocated land for the memorial of Pranab Mukherjee, who died in 2020.
The government has earmarked a plot in the ‘Rashtriya Samiti’ complex in the Rajghat precinct in Delhi, the former president’s daughter said in January.
“Called on Hon’ble PM Narendra Modi ji to express thanks and gratitude from the core of my heart for his government’s decision to create a memorial for baba. It’s more cherished considering that we didn’t ask for it. Immensely touched by this unexpected but truly gracious gesture by PM,” Sharmistha Mukherjee said in an online post.
Ms Mukherjee had even hit out at the Congress over its demand for Mr Singh’s memorial and reminded them they did not even convene a condolence meeting for her father.
