New Delhi: In a sharp rebuke, BJP National President and Union Health Minister JP Nadda accused the Congress party of 'politicising' former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's demise and engaging in 'cheap politics', alleging that the party never showed respect to the late veteran Manmohan Singh when he held the office.
Addressing the media on Saturday, JP Nadda said, "It is indeed very unfortunate that former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and current president Mallikarjun Kharge are not refraining from doing politics even on the sad demise of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Congress, which never gave respect to Dr Manmohan Singh while he was alive, is now doing politics in the name of his respect."
"This is the same Congress which tarnished the dignity of the post of the Prime Minister by placing Sonia Gandhi as super PM above PM Manmohan Singh.
Taking a dig at the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, JP Nadda said, "Rahul Gandhi insulted PM Manmohan Singh by tearing the ordinance, and today the same Rahul Gandhi is doing politics over his demise."
JP Nadda also criticized the Gandhi family for not showing respect to other prominent leaders of the country, citing examples of Dr BR Ambedkar, Sardar Patel, and others.
Nadda pointed out that the PM Modi government had established a memorial for former PM PV Narasimha Rao in 2015, despite Sonia Gandhi's earlier rejection of the proposal, and highlighted the lack of respect shown by Congress after the death of Dr Pranab Mukherjee in 2020.
"The Gandhi family has neither given respect to any big leader of the country nor done justice to them. Whether it is from the Congress party or the opposition, whether it is Baba Saheb Ambedkar, the country's first President Rajendra Babu, Sardar Patel, Lal Bahadur Shastri, PV Narasimha Rao, Pranab Da, Atal Bihari Vajpayee," he said.
Adding further, he said, "The government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given place for PM Manmohan Singh's Samadhi and has also informed the family. Still, Congress is spreading false news."
"It is necessary to remember the history of Congress. After the death of former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao, there was a demand to build a Samadhi Sthal in Delhi's Rajghat complex. But at that time Sonia Gandhi had rejected it. It was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who established a memorial for him in 2015. When former President Bharat Ratna Dr Pranab Mukherjee passed away in 2020, the Congress Working Committee did not even bother to call a condolence meeting," said Nadda.
"Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and other Congress party leaders should refrain from such cheap politics," said JP Nadda.
Meanwhile, Congress Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday lashed out at the Centre's decision to conduct former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's cremation at Nigambodh Ghat and said that the Centre should have thought "beyond politics and narrow-mindedness" in this matter.
"By not providing an adequate place for the cremation of former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, the Government has not done justice to the dignity of the post of former Prime Minister, the personality of Manmohan Singh, his legacy and the self-respecting Sikh community," Priyanka Gandhi posted on X.
The Wayanad MP further said that "earlier all former Prime Ministers" were given the highest honour and respect and Manmohan Singh deserves this "honour and Samadhi Sthal."
"Today the whole world is remembering his contribution. The government should have thought beyond politics and narrow-mindedness in this matter. This morning, I felt this when I saw Dr. Manmohan Singh ji's family members struggling for a place at the funeral site, trying to find a place in the crowd, and the general public getting troubled due to lack of space and paying tribute from the road outside," she added.
However, the Congress is facing criticism for not giving similar respect to former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao. The UPA government had rejected requests for separate memorials in the national capital citing lack of space.
Earlier today, Rahul Gandhi too attacked the central government for performing the last rites of Manmohan Singh at Nigambodh Ghat and said that the former Finance Minister deserves the "highest respect and a memorial."
"The great son of India and the first Prime Minister of the Sikh community, Dr. Manmohan Singh ji has been totally insulted by the present government by performing his last rites today at the Nigambodh Ghat," Rahul Gandhi posted on X.
After the Cabinet meeting on Friday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah communicated to Congress President Kharge and the family of the late Manmohan Singh that the Government will allocate space for the memorial. In the meanwhile, cremation and other formalities can happen because a trust has to be formed and space has to be allocated to it.
Manmohan Singh was accorded a state funeral with military honours at the Nigam Bodh Ghat, a public cremation ground in north Delhi, on Saturday.
Manmohan Singh passed away at AIIMS, Delhi, on Thursday night at the age of 92 due to age-related medical conditions. He had a sudden loss of consciousness at home after which he was rushed to the hospital.
