Government Greenlights ‘Rashtriya Smriti’ in Delhi for National Leaders' Last Rites

New Delhi: A day after the death of former PM Manmohan Singh, the Central Government has reportedly approved the proposal of constructing a 'Rashtriya Smriti' at the Samadhi Complex in the national capital. This dedicated space will serve as the venue for performing the last rites of national leaders, including incumbent and former Presidents, Vice Presidents, Prime Ministers, and other dignitaries as decided by the Cabinet, reports said.

Highlighting the rationale for the move, the Centre noted that previous memorials for late national leaders near Rajghat occupied significant space. In light of the Cabinet decision taken in 2000, the Centre stated that “henceforth Government shall not develop any Samadhi for departed leaders" and the limited availability of land at the Samadhis Complex, a ‘Rashtriya Smriti’ is being established to perform the last rites of departed national leaders.

“The Smriti area will facilitate the performance of last rites for departed national leaders while also providing space for public gatherings,” the government stated. Funerals of former Prime Ministers are usually performed at specific designated locations in Delhi. 

Earlier in the day, the Union home ministry announced that Singh’s last rites would be performed with full state honours at Delhi’s Nigambodh Ghat crematorium at 11:45 am on Saturday. “It has been decided by the Government that a State funeral will be accorded to Dr Manmohan Singh. The funeral will take place at 11:45 AM on 28th December, 2024 at Nigam Bodh Ghat, New Delhi," the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in the notification.

Congress Demands Memorial For Manmohan Singh

Kharge wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to conduct the last rites of former PM Manmohan Singh at a place where a memorial can be built. He wrote the letter after speaking to Modi about setting up a memorial for Singh, who was a two-term prime minister revered by the people of the country.

"Apropos our telephonic conversation this 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 mthe emorial of the great son of India.

"This is in keeping with such tradition of having memorials of statesmen and former Prime Ministers at the very place of their funerals," Kharge said in his two-page letter.

The Congress chief said Dr Manmohan Singh holds a highly revered place in the psyche of the country and the people of this nation, and his contributions and achievements were phenomenal.

He also said that Dr Singh's erudition on economic and fiscal matters came from his vast experience as the governor of the Reserve Bank of India, chief economic advisor to the government of India and in various other capacities in several organisations, and the respect and regard that world leaders had for him bears testimony to this fact.

Kharge said Singh's wise counsel, leadership and contribution in mitigating the global economic financial crisis is well-acknowledged. He also recalled President Obama's words when as the US president, he mentioned that "whenever the Indian prime minister speaks, the whole world listens to him".

He also said that when the nation was in the throes of a grave economic crisis, it was Dr Manmohan Singh, along with former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao, who took India out of the crisis and also led the country towards economic prosperity and stability.

The nation today reaps the benefits of the robust economic foundations built by them, Kharge noted.

"Coming from a humble background and having experienced the pains and sufferings of the Partition, it is through his sheer grit and determination that he rose to become one of the leading statesmen of the world. I hope and trust that befitting stature of Dr Manmohan Singh, request to have the funeral of Dr Singh at a place where his memorial can be built, will be acceded," Kharge said in his letter to Modi.