Nation bids farewell to Manmohan Singh

Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh was laid to rest with full State honours at Delhis Nigam Bodh Ghat on Saturday as the nation bid an emotional farewell to the stalwart Congress leader who was fondly known as the Architect of Indias economic reforms Earlier amid poignant slogans of ldquoManmohan Singh Ji Amar Raherdquo and ldquoJab Tak Suraj Chand Rahega Manmohan Singh Ka Naam Rahegardquo the mortal remains of Dr Singh were transported from the Congress headquarters to the cremation ground in a floweradorned Army vehicleLeader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi along with Dr Singhs family members was present in the vehicle reflecting his respect and admiration for the late leaderPresident Droupadi Murmu Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Union Ministers Amit Shah Rajnath Singh and JP Nadda and Delhi Chief Minister Atishi were present at Nigam Bodh Ghat to pay their last respects to the economic wizardForeign dignitaries including Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay and Mauritius Foreign Minister Dhananjay Ramful also attended the solemn ceremonyThe former Prime Minister received a final salute from the armed forces and the customary 21 gun salute in his honourChief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan along with the chiefs of the Army Navy and Air Force also paid tribute to the leader who guided India through transformative timesEarlier in the day the Indian Army Navy and Air Force officers brought Dr Singhs mortal remains to the Congress headquarters where family members and senior Congress leaders gathered for a heartfelt homageRahul Gandhi Congress Parliamentary Party President Sonia Gandhi and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge draped the Congress flag over Dr Singhrsquos body marking a solemn moment of tributeGursharan Kaur Dr Singhs wife led the family in paying their respects Other prominent Congress leaders including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra DK Shivakumar Ashok Gehlot KC Venugopal Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister S Sukhu and Telangana Congress chief Revanth Reddy were also present to honour the late leaderAs the funeral procession moved through the streets throngs of Congress leaders workers and supporters followed chanting ldquoManmohan Singh Amar Raherdquo in a demonstration of admiration and respect for the visionary leaderDr Singh who passed away at the age of 92 on Thursday night at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences AIIMS in New Delhi served as Indiarsquos 14th Prime MinisterWidely regarded as the Architect of Indiarsquos economic reforms he led the nation as the head of the Congressled United Progressive Alliance UPA for two consecutive terms from 2004 to 2014The globally respected economist and statesman leaves behind a legacy of transformative leadership that reshaped Indiarsquos economic and political landscapeThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever