Ahead of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s state funeral, the Congress urged the Union government to allocate a memorial site for him along the Yamuna River in Delhi, where memorials for previous Prime Ministers exist. While the Centre confirmed that Singh’s funeral would take place at Nigambodh Ghat on Saturday as planned, it assured the family and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge that space for a memorial would be allocated later. The Ministry of Home Affairs explained that a Trust must be formed for the memorial, delaying immediate action on the request.
The Congress Working Committee (CWC) honored Singh’s legacy in a condolence resolution, hailing him as a transformative leader whose contributions shaped India’s political and economic landscape. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, among the first to pay homage, called Singh’s death a national loss, describing him as an able statesman. Sonia Gandhi expressed personal grief, calling Singh her “friend, philosopher, and guide,” while international tributes poured in, with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken lauding Singh as a champion of Indo-U.S. ties and Russian President Vladimir Putin highlighting his role in strengthening India-Russia relations.
Singh’s final rites will follow a procession on Saturday, starting from the AICC headquarters at 8 a.m., allowing party members and the public to pay their respects. The funeral will commence at 11:45 a.m. with full state honors. Notably, it was Singh’s UPA government in 2013 that decided against individual memorials for VVIPs in Delhi, opting instead for a shared complex for national leaders, a policy now central to discussions on his own final resting place.
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