The Congress has reached out to the Centre for space to build a memorial for former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, 92, following his death on December 26 night.
This comes a day before the funeral of the late PM on Saturday. On Friday, several leaders paid tribute to Manmohan Singh at his residence in Motial Nehru Marg.
At 8 am on Saturday, the former PM's body will be taken to the Congress headquarters where party workers will pay their respects. The mortal remains will be taken to Nigambodh Ghat at 9.30 am in a procession. The last rites will be performed with State honours at the Nigambodh Ghat crematorium at 11.45 am.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and the family of Manmohan Singh are reportedly in talks with the government regarding this.
On Friday, Kharge wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, "Apropos our telephonic conversation today morning, wherein I made a request to hold Dr Manmohan Singh's last rites, which will take place tomorrow i.e. 28th December 2024, at his final resting place that would be a sacrosanct venue for memorial of the great son of India."
He said this is in line with the tradition of having memorials of statesmen and former PMs at the same place where their funerals are held.
Due to lack of space, the former UPA government had decided to have a common memorial ground, Rashtriya Smriti Sthal, near Raj Ghat for the prime ministers.
Kharge said India is reaping the benefits of the decisions taken by the former PM to improve the country's economy. He said coming from a humble background and having "suffered the pains and sufferings of the Partition", Manmohan Singh became one of the leading stateman of the world through his sheer grit and determination.
An AIIMS bulletin stated that Manmohan Singh was treated for age-related medical conditions and revealed that he had lost consciousness at home on Thursday night. He was declared dead at 9.51 pm. The late PM is survived by wife Gurcharan Singh and three daughters.