Manmohan Singh Death News Updates: Former PM’s last rites to be held tomorrow at Nigambodh Ghat

Mamata Banerjee, the West Bengal chief minister and chief of Trinamool Congress, expressed her profound sadness and says she's "stunned" by the sudden demise of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

"I had worked with him and saw him from very close quarters in the Union Cabinet. His erudition and wisdom were unquestionable, and the depth of the financial reforms ushered in by him in the country are widely acknowledged . The country will miss his stewardship and I shall miss his affection," Singh wrote.

“It was the happiest period of my life.” That’s how Dr Manmohan Singh remembered his days at Panjab University (PU) and Hindu College, Amritsar, where the foundation of his extraordinary journey that would make him one of India’s most respected leaders was laid.

As the university’s most illustrious alumnus post-Independence, Singh was celebrated for his intellect and humility. But he often credited his success to mentors like Dr S B Rangnekar, who headed the university’s Economics Department. Singh, who joined the department in Hoshiarpur in 1952, said Rangnekar inspired him to pursue further studies at Cambridge University.

What else did Manmohan Singh say about his time at Panjab University. Read here

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah says he's deeply saddened by the passing of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

"It was during his tenure as PM that I became the CM of Karnataka for the first time. His encouragement of our budgetary measures and the influence of landmark UPA policies like the Right to Food Act shaped Karnataka's progress and welfare initiatives, he wrote on X.

Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan said he was deeply saddened by the passing of Dr Manmohan Singh.

Calling him a "distinguished statesman committed to the values of secularism and democracy", the Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader conveyed his heartfelt condolences to Singh's family and loved ones.

Foreign Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said he was deeply grieved at the passing away of former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.

Jaishankar recalled his time working with the noted economist and said while Singh was regarded as the architect of Indian economic reforms, "he was equally responsible for the strategic corrections to our foreign policy".

In the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war, India has a “pivotal role” in “steering” the new world order and has “done the right thing in putting its sovereign and economic interests first while also appealing for peace,” former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said.

In an exclusive interview to The Indian Express ahead of the G20 summit that begins Saturday, Manmohan Singh said that he was “more optimistic about India’s future than worried,” but that optimism is “contingent on India being a harmonious society.”

Read what Singh said about the challenges he pointed out

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh was the architect of economic reforms, shaping modern India, opened its doors to the world with intellect, grace, and integrity, industry leaders Gautam Adani and Harsh Goenka said on Thursday.

Mourning the death of Singh, who passed away this evening, Adani in a post on X said: "History will forever honour his pivotal role in the transformative 1991 reforms that reshaped India and opened its doors to the world."

Similarly in a post on X, RPG Enterprise Chairman Harsh Goenka wrote, "India mourns the loss of Dr. Manmohan Singh, a true statesman whose quiet demeanour belied his transformative impact.".

Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra in a tweet on X said: "Farewell Dr. Manmohan Singh. You loved this nation. And your service to it will long be remembered".

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Executive Chairperson of Biocon Limited, posted on X: "Manmohan Singh, 2-Time PM And Architect Of India's Economic Reforms, Dies At 92 - He was an erudite economist and a man of high integrity. A PM to whom we owe our economic turnaround."

-PTI

Born in a village in undivided Punjab, now in Pakistan, former prime minister Manmohan Singh's family witnessed first-hand the tragic Partition and he often spoke of communal harmony in his long public life.

He was born in Gah in Punjab province's western region, which now falls in Pakistan.

According to his profile on the website -- pmindia.gov, "Dr Singh completed his matriculation examinations from the Punjab University in 1948. His academic career took him from Punjab to the University of Cambridge, UK, where he earned a First Class Honours degree in Economics in 1957." Singh followed this with a D.Phil in Economics from Nuffield College at Oxford University in 1962.

He served two terms as India's prime minister from 2004 to 2014.

A man of few words, but immense wisdom, he often spoke of communal harmony and democratic values that are at the core of India as a nation.

At an event in Amritsar in 2004 marking the 400th anniversary of the installation of Guru Granth Sahib, he had recalled his roots.

"The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, touched an emotional cord while addressing a mammoth gathering in Amritsar, recalling his roots and paying tributes to the teachings of Guru Garnth Sahib," reads a September 2004 statement carried on the website -- archivepmo.nic.in.

In his speech, then then prime minister had underlined that there could be "no better way" to honour the holy text than to abide in practice by its teachings of "living in peace with one another".

In his first address to the nation as PM on June 24, 2004, Manmohan Singh said “Gandhiji had said that his mission in life was ‘to wipe every tear from every eye’… That message of Bapu resonates in our ears as we settle down to the business of government…"

Cut to May 17, 2024, in his final address as an occupant of the PM's office, Singh said "I wish the incoming government every success as it embarks on its task and pray for even greater successes for our Nation. "

Read the full version here

With the demise of Manmohan Singh, an extremely full and extraordinarily distinguished life has ended, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh wrote on X.

Remembering the various roles he served in: Chief Economic Adviser, Finance Secretary, Governor RBI, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission, Finance Minister, and Prime Minister of India, Ramesh said Singh had a steely resolve.

"He was the technocratic transformer of the Indian economy through his 1991, 1992, and other budgets. His Prime Ministership saw revolutionary legislation relating to rural employment, tribal rights, reservations for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and OBCs, primary education, food security, and land acquisition. The Indo-US nuclear agreement was a landmark that enhanced India's global status," Ramesh wrote.

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar called the demise of former Prime Minister of the country, Dr Manmohan Singh, "an irreparable loss for Indian politics".

Calling him a skilled politician, Kumar said Under Manmohan Singh's leadership, India's economy got a new direction.

J&K CM Omar Abdullah expressed his sadness after hearing the news of former PM Manmohan Singh's demise.

"I had many occasions to interact & learn from him. He was truly an intellectual giant, an accomplished economist but above all he was a thorough gentleman, a giant among pygmies," Abdullah wrote on X.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a heartfelt tribute to former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, describing him as “one of India’s most distinguished leaders” whose legacy will endure in the nation’s history.

“Rising from humble origins, he rose to become a respected economist,” Modi said, reflecting on Singh’s transformative role in shaping India’s economic policies.

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If India Inc is so confident today, much of it is owed to Manmohan Singh, who as Finance Minister in 1991 initiated broad-based economic reforms and opened up India to the world.

Despite opposition within, he moved on with the full backing of then Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao; and even then he did so cautiously, sensitising people along the way on the need to revisit old orthodoxies.

As he signed off after his second term as the Prime Minister in 2014, he signed off saying “history will be kinder to me”.

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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said Manmohan Singh led the country with integrity.

With Singh's demise, I have lost a mentor, Gandhi said.

The Congress has cancelled its “Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan Rally” that was scheduled to be held in Belgaum, Karnataka tomorrow.

@INCKarnataka will be holding a condolence meeting in remembrance of Dr. Manmohan Singh tomorrow, Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala wrote on X.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that Manmohan Singh, the former PM and noted economist, "led India with immense wisdom and integrity.

Gandhi referenced Singh's humility and said the latter's 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," Gandhi said.

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh was admitted to AIIMS Delhi in a critical condition. The crowds outside the establishment started to swell as news spread. (Express Photo)

Manmohan Singh had a regret. Speaking to The Indian Express on 25 years of the 1991 reforms, the former PM said we "act only when there is a crisis".

Reflecting on the reforms that he, working with Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao, set in motion, Singh opened up to The Indian Express, in a rare conversation earlier this year, as he mapped the road ahead: opposition from within, role of the Prime Minister’s “political management,” fear of “blood and tears,” and the crying “need to revisit old orthodoxies.”

Read the full interview here

Dr Manmohan Singh, the 14th Prime Minister of India, who was widely acknowledged as the architect of the country’s economic reforms, passed away in New Delhi on Thursday.

He was 92.

Singh was on Thursday evening admitted to the emergency department of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), where he breathed his last, the hospital confirmed.

Read more here

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the Congress parliamentarian, said that few people in politics “inspire the kind of respect that Sardar Manmohan Singh did”.

Vadra was one of the first leaders to reach AIIMS on Thursday night.

Singh was admitted to the hospital around 8 PM in a critical condition.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said that former PM Manmohan Singh's immense contribution" to nation-building will forever be etched in the annals of history".

Singh was a man of action rather than words, Kharge said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoles the passing away of Manmohan Singh. In a post on X, Modi said the country was mourning the loss of "one of its most distinguished leaders".

His interventions in Parliament were also insightful. As our Prime Minister, he made extensive efforts to improve people’s lives, Modi wrote.

Dr Manmohan Singh, the two-time Indian prime minister and a noted economist who ushered in the landmark reforms of 1991 during his stint as the finance minister in the Narasimha Rao government, passed away in Delhi on Thursday.

He was 92.

Dr Singh was admitted to the emergency department on Thursday night and was reportedly in a critical condition.