New Delhi: Former president Pranab Mukherjee’s daughter Sharmistha Mukherjee on Thursday hit out at the Congress for not even holding a Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting after the death of her father. However, she backed the Congress's demand for a memorial for former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh and even demanded Bharat Ratna for him.
Sharmistha Mukherjee claimed that a senior leader told her that the CWC meeting was not held for presidents. The former president's daughter called this "utter rubbish" and said that the CWC was called on KR Narayanan's death. Notably, Narayanan served as the President of India from 1997 to 2002.
"When baba passed away, Congress didnt even bother 2 call CWC 4 condolence meeting. A senior leader told me it’s not done 4 Presidents. Thats utter rubbish as I learned later from baba’s diaries that on KR Narayanan’s death, CWC was called & condolence msg was drafted by baba only," Sharmistha tweeted while sharing the letter of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge's letter demanding memorial from Singh.
Sarmistha Mukherjee's Tweet:
When baba passed away, Congress didnt even bother 2 call CWC 4 condolence meeting. A senior leader told me it’s not done 4 Presidents. Thats utter rubbish as I learned later from baba’s diaries that on KR Narayanan’s death, CWC was called & condolence msg was drafted by baba only https://t.co/nbYCF7NsMB
— Sharmistha Mukherjee (@Sharmistha_GK) December 27, 2024
In another tweet, SHarmistha Mukherjee said that Singh deserved a memorial. "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," she said on his official X handle.
Sharmistha Mukherjee Demaded BHart Ratna For Dr Manmohan SIngh:
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
Kharge wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding to allocate space for Singh's Memorial. The Congress on Friday lashed out at the Centre for not allocating space for the cremation and memorial of Dr Singh. The grand old party had called it a deliberate insult to the country's first Sikh Prime Minister. The Congress raised the issue after the Union Home Ministry said Dr Singh's last rites would be held at New Delhi's Nigambodh Ghat at 11.45 am on Saturday with full state honours.
However, late Friday night, the Centre gave its approval for Dr Singh's memorial. In a late-night release titled "Facts of the matter regarding a memorial for Former Prime Minister Late Dr Manmohan Singh," the Ministry said the government received a request from the Congress Chief to allocate space for a memorial for Dr Singh.
"Today morning, Government received a request to allocate space for a memorial for former Prime Minister Late Dr Manmohan Singh, from the Congress Party President. Immediately after the Cabinet meeting, HM Shri Amit Shah communicated to Congress President Shri Kharge and the family of Late Dr 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," the ministry stated.
The former prime minister breathed his last on Thursday, December 26 in Delhi's AIIMS at the age of 92 years.