India Bids Farewell To Manmohan Singh: Former PM Cremated With Full State Honours In Delhi

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh was cremated on Saturday (28 December) with full state honours at Nigambodh Ghat in New Delhi.

The former Prime Minister passed away on Thursday (26 December) night.

The Ministry of Home Affairs had earlier confirmed that Singh would be accorded state honours during his final rites.

"It has been decided by the Government that State funeral will be accorded to Dr. Manmohan Singh. The funeral will take place at 11:45 am on 28th December, 2024 at Nigambodh Ghat, New Delhi," the MHA had said in a statement.

On Friday, the Ministry of Home Affairs announced plans to allocate space for a memorial to honor Manmohan Singh.

Manmohan Singh, aged 92, passed away on Thursday night at AIIMS in New Delhi.

Following his demise, the government announced a 7-day mourning period to pay homage to Singh.

Manmohan Singh served as a Member of Parliament until April 2024.

Though he was never elected to the Lok Sabha, he became a Rajya Sabha member in 1991, representing Assam, and was subsequently re-elected in 1995, 2001, 2007, and 2013. In later years, he represented Rajasthan.

Several dignitaries attended Manmohan Singh’s last rites, including President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Health Minister JP Nadda, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar, and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi.

Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge were also present.

The King of Bhutan and the Foreign Minister of Mauritius traveled to India to attend the funeral.

Manmohan Singh’s mortal remains were taken from his residence to the Congress’s Akbar Road headquarters in New Delhi at 8am on Saturday, where the public paid their respects to the former PM.

At around 10 am, a funeral procession proceeded to Nigambodh Ghat. Singh was later cremated with full State honours at 12.50 pm.

The Union home ministry on Friday said that the government will allocate space for a memorial of Manmohan Singh.

The Ministry further announced that this decision had been conveyed to Singh’s family and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, who had requested that the late Prime Minister’s final rites be held at a place where a memorial can be built.

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