Former Prime Minister and senior Congress leader Dr Manmohan Singh breathed his last on December 26 at AIIMS in Delhi after battling with age-related illnesses. The final rites of Dr Singh will be performed tomorrow. Meanwhile, leaders from across the political spectrum are arriving at the former PM’s residence in Delhi to pay their tribute to him.
The central government has also announced seven-day state mourning to honour Dr Manmohan Singh, who is known to have played a key role in defining India’s economy in adverse times.
Do you remember an incident where former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif used derogatory remarks against his then-Indian counterpart, Dr Manmohan Singh? Sharif had called Singh “Dehati aurat”, alleging that he kept complaining to the-then US President Barack Obama about him.
The remarks soon spiraled into a massive controversy, with several Indian politicians criticising the same. Among those who slammed Sharif for his derogatory remarks against Dr Singh was current Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was the Gujarat Chief Minister at that time.
Addressing a public meeting, PM Modi had said, “We will fight with our Prime Minister within the country. We will fight with him over policies. But, he is the Prime Minister of a country of 125 crore citizens.”
Training guns at Nawaz Sharif, the PM continued, “Nawaz Sharif! Aapki kaun si aukat hai? Aap mere desh ke Pradhan Mantri ko ‘dehati aurat’ kehkar sambodhit karte hain”? (Nawaz Sharif! What status do you have to call our country’s Prime Minister ‘Dehati Aurat’?)
Pertinent to note that Dr Manmohan Singh and PM Narendra Modi were hard core political rivals. During the UPA regime, PM Modi targeted the-then PM over policies and schemes. Moreover, Dr Singh was also critical of demonetisation, introduced under the Modi government in 2016.
Link to article –
