Sharmistha Mukherjee, daughter of former President Pranab Mukherjee, took a sharp dig at the Congress party amid demands for a memorial for former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. Mukherjee expressed her discontent with the Congress' past actions, particularly its failure to convene a Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting to pay condolences after her father's demise.
In a candid post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Mukherjee criticized Congress? approach. ?When Baba passed away, Congress didn?t even bother to call a CWC condolence meeting. A senior leader told me it?s not done for Presidents. That?s utter rubbish, as I later learned from Baba?s diaries that a CWC condolence meeting was held for KR Narayanan, and Baba himself drafted the message,? she revealed.
Despite her criticism, Mukherjee supported the idea of a memorial for Dr. Manmohan Singh, calling it a ?great idea.? She also highlighted that her father, during his tenure as President, had wanted to confer the Bharat Ratna on Dr. Singh, but it didn?t materialize for reasons she chose not to elaborate on.
Quoting her earlier post, she added, ?Having said that, a memorial for Dr. Singh is a great idea. He deserves it, as well as the Bharat Ratna, which Baba as President wanted to confer on him but couldn?t.?
Government Response to Memorial Request
The controversy gained momentum as the Union Home Ministry released a late-night statement addressing the demand for a memorial for Dr. Singh. According to the ministry, a request had been submitted by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge to allocate space for the memorial.
In its statement, the ministry confirmed that space would be allocated but clarified that formalities, including the formation of a trust, would need to be completed before proceeding further. ?Immediately after the Cabinet meeting, Home Minister 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 meantime, cremation and other formalities can take place,? the statement read.
