The decks have been cleared to found a memorial for the former prime minister of India, Manmohan Singh, with his family’s approval to the proposed site at the Rashtriya Smriti Sthal. According to news agency PTI, quoting sources close to Singh’s family said that the family has written to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, approving the site proposed and sending a letter of acceptance.
According to news agency PTI, the three daughters of Manmohan Singh and their husbands had earlier visited the proposed memorial site. The site, measuring around 900 square metres, is at the Rashtriya Smriti Sthal, where the memorials of many former prime ministers and presidents have been set up.
Former President of India, Pranab Mukherjee’s memorial is adjacent to the site proposed for Manmohan Singh.
According to the report, the next process would be the transfer of land in the name of a trust to be set up in memory of Manmohan Singh. The family has to propose and finalise the names of members of the trust, which is likely to be set up soon, sources said as quoted by news agency PTI. The source also added that the government will transfer a grant of Rs 25 lakh for the building of the memorial.
According to the report, the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) officials have already visited the site.
Singh, considered the architect of India’s economic reforms, died on December 26, 2024, at the age of 92 following age-related complications. His last rites were held at the Nigambodh Ghat in the presence of his wife Gursharan Kaur, President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The choice of the funeral ground was frowned upon then by the Congress, the party Singh was associated with. The Centre had earlier decided to set up a memorial for Pranab Mukherjee at the Rashtriya Smriti area complex. Pranab Mukherjee, who died on August 31, 2020, was also a Congress member.
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