Rahul Gandhi pays his last respects to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

NEW DELHI: Congress MP and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi paid his last respects to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at his residence in the national capital on Friday.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi also offered condolences to the former PM’s family. In his condolence message the Lok Sabha LoP said,”Manmohan Singh Ji led India with immense wisdom and integrity. His humility and deep understanding of economics inspired the nation. My heartfelt condolences to Mrs. Kaur and the family. I have lost a mentor and guide. Millions of us who admired him will remember him with the utmost pride.”

Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, KC Venugopal, Devendra Yadav and several other party leaders were also present at the residence of the former PM.

Several leaders and personalities have paid their tribute to the former PM Manmohan Singh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at the residence of the former PM to pay his last respects along with Union Ministers Amit Shah and JP Nadda. They offered condolences to his family in the hour of grief.

Manmohan Singh passed away at AIIMS, Delhi, on Thursday evening 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 AIIMS Delhi.

The mortal remains of the former PM will be kept at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters in Delhi for public viewing.

As per the Congress party sources, the ‘last darshan’ will be scheduled for Saturday between 8:00 to 10:00 in the morning. All the party leaders including Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi will pay tribute to the former PM at the AICC office after which the last rites will be carried out.

Singh, renowned for introducing the 1991 economic liberalisation reforms as the Finance Minister of India, will be cremated near Rajghat, at the location where the last rites of Prime Ministers are performed.

Manmohan Singh was born on September 26, 1932. Apart from being an economist, Manmohan Singh served as Reserve Bank of India governor from 1982-1985. He was the 13th PM of India with his tenure from 2004-2014 and was the longest-serving PM after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.

Serving as the finance minister of India in PV Narasimha Rao’s government, Singh has been given credit for economic liberalisation in the country in 1991. The reforms made the Indian economy more accessible to foreign investors, which increased FDI and reduced government control. It greatly contributed to the country’s economic growth.

Manmohan Singh’s government also introduced the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), which later came to be known as MGNREGA.

The Right to Information Act (RTI) was passed in 2005 under the Manmohan Singh government, which made the transparency of information between the government and the public better.

Dr Manmohan Singh retired from the Rajya Sabha earlier this year after serving for 33 years.