The Story So Far
Former PM Manmohan Singh passed away on December 26.
Singh was cremated at Nigambodh Ghat in Delhi, which is a public cremation ground, unlike other former PMs who were cremated at designated memorial sites.
Congress party criticized this decision, calling it an “insult” and demanded a memorial be built at the cremation site.
Is There a Rule for Memorials?
There is no government rule or order on allocating space for memorials for former PMs.
Past Trends for Former PMs
Except for PM Vishwanath Pratap Singh, all other former PMs have memorials, mostly in Delhi.
Jawaharlal Nehru: Shanti Vana
Lal Bahadur Shastri: Vijay Ghat
Charan Singh: Kisan Ghat
Indira Gandhi: Shakti Sthal
Rajiv Gandhi: Vir Bhumi
P.V. Narasimha Rao: Ekta Sthal (2015- 10 years after his death in 2004)
In 2013, the Congress government decided all memorials should be at Smriti Sthal due to space constraints.
Who Maintains the Memorials?
Memorials are generally maintained by the respective state governments and local municipalities.
The Ministry of Urban Development is responsible for the upkeep of some prominent memorials like those near Rajghat, Morarji Desai's samadhi in Ahmedabad, and Rajiv Gandhi’s memorial in Tamil Nadu.
Congress's Demand
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting the allocation of a space for Manmohan Singh’s memorial.
The Ministry of Home Affairs announced later that the government would allocate space for the memorial, but no official announcement had been made
Former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s memorial was built at Smriti Sthal within 45 days of his death, funded by a society and costing ₹10.51 crore.
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