Sharmistha Mukherjee, daughter of former President Pranab Mukherjee, criticized Congress for neglecting her father’s legacy. The criticism comes on the heels of Congress’ demand for separate memorial space for former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. She revealed the party did not convene a condolence meeting for her father’s death, a practice followed during President KR Narayanan’s passing.
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In a post on X Sharmistha wrote, “The Congress didn’t even ‘bother’ to call the CWC meeting after Pranab Mukherjee passed away in 2020”. She said, “It wasn’t done for the presidents of the country”.
Having said that, a memorial for Dr. Singh is a great idea. He deserves it & also Bharat Ratna which baba as President wanted 2 confer on him; but that didn’t happen perhaps due 2 reasons which don’t need to be spelled out. https://t.co/5MhH7k5Smq pic.twitter.com/yUZCEXNMxK
— Sharmistha Mukherjee (@Sharmistha_GK) December 27, 2024
Mukherjee further wrote, “When Baba passed away, Congress didn’t even bother 2 call CWC for a condolence meeting. A senior leader told me it’s not done for Presidents. That’s utter rubbish. I learned later from Baba’s diaries that on KR Narayanan’s death, CWC was called & condolence msg was drafted by Baba only”.
However, she backed the Congress’s request to the Centre for a memorial place for Manmohan Singh. Singh passed away at 92 on Thursday. Mukherjee further cited that Singh deserves a dedicated memorial site.
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She further added, “Having said that, a memorial for Dr Singh is a great idea. He deserves it and also Bharat Ratna, which Baba, as President, wanted to confer on him; but that didn’t happen, perhaps due to two reasons which don’t need to be spelled out.”
This follows intense political sparring between the BJP and the Congress. The Centre had initially directed Singh’s cremation at Nigambodh Ghat. This Ghat is a public crematorium. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
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Later, the Ministry of Home Affairs said, “The Government received a request to allocate space for a memorial for former Prime Minister Late Dr Manmohan Singh. The Congress Party President made the request. Immediately after the Cabinet meeting, HM Shri Amit Shah communicated to Congress President Shri Kharge.”
It further said, “Discussions were also held with the family of Late Dr Manmohan Singh that the Government will allocate space for the memorial. Meanwhile, cremation and other formalities can happen because a trust has to be formed and space has to be allocated to it”.
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