Manmohan Singh Made Strong Decisions, Says Former Cabinet Secretary Chandrasekhar

Thiruvananthapuram: Recalling his association with late ex-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, former Union Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar on Friday said Singh was a powerful administrator who made strong decisions.

"His decision to implement a liberalisation policy in 1991 changed history," Chandrasekhar told a TV channel.

"I have worked with many ministers, and while many of them, including Manmohan Singh, are true gentlemen, for Singh, his gentlemanly nature was not a weakness but a remarkable strength," he added.

In 1991, during the 2008-09 economic crisis, in the civil nuclear deal, the Sethusamudram project, and in the 26/11 attacks, we witnessed his power to make strong decisions, said Chandrasekhar, who worked with Singh as Cabinet Secretary while he was the PM.

"I have known Manmohan Singh even before my tenure as Cabinet Secretary," Chandrasekhar recalled.

"I first interacted with him when I was the finance secretary of Kerala." Chandrasekhar said he had approached Singh about Kerala's financial concerns during his tenure as Union Finance Minister.

"In 1996, when the state was facing a severe financial crisis, I, along with the then Finance Minister C V Padmarajan, met him at the Raj Bhavan seeking assistance. Subsequently, Rs 50 crore was sanctioned," he said.

He also recounted an incident that left a lasting impression.

"The following year, when I met Revenue Secretary N K Singh, he enquired about Kerala's financial situation. When I asked why, he said the Union Finance Minister had specifically directed him to assess the state's situation ahead of the Onam festival," Chandrasekhar added.

"Just a few months after Manmohan Singh took over as Prime Minister, he visited Geneva, where I was serving as Ambassador at the time," Chandrasekhar recalled.

"It happened to be his birthday that day, and my colleague Hardeep Singh Puri arranged a cake. We celebrated the occasion there," he added.

Chandrasekhar shared a memorable conversation from that day. "I told him, you will be a successful prime minister of India because you are not raising any expectations." "Singh was never one to make grand promises," he recalled.

Singh, the architect of India's economic reforms, died at AIIMS, New Delhi on Thursday. He was 92.