Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri's reaction came after the Congress slammed the Centre over 'insulting' former PM Manmohan Singh by performing his last rites at Nigam Bodh Ghat instead of a designated spot that could be turned into his memorial.
A day after Congress levelled an allegation of 'insulting' the country's first Sikh prime minister Manmohan Sđingh by performing his last rites at Nigam Bodh Ghat instead of a designated spot that could be turned into his memorial, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Sunday accused the Congress of engaging in âdirty politicsâ .
"The present government has insulted the great son of Mother India and the first prime minister of the Sikh community, Dr Manmohan Singh ji, by performing his last rites at the Nigam Bodhâ Ghat today," Rahul Gandhi posted on X.
Retaliating to the accusations, Puri said, âThere is no controversy, but it đČis being created. The Congress is playing dirty politicsâ while adding that, âCongress presideà± nt Mallikarjun Kharge wrote a letter, and the Home Ministry released a communication agreeing to their request. The letter reached us the day after Singhâs demise, at three minutes past midnightâ, as per a report by India Today.
Attributing the decision of conducting the last rites at Nigam Bodh Ghat to logistical challenges, the union minister reportedly said, âThe area around Rajghat is flat and prone to wá©á©á©á©á©á©â€â€â€â€á©â€â€â€â€á©â€â€â€â€á©đ±á©á©á©ater-logging. The weather forecast predicted heavy rain. Ask the Congress if it was possible to erect structures in such conditions in a short time.â
Pointing out a few instances, Puri higâ±hlighted that instead of the BJP, Congress itself "insulted" its own leaders in the past while saying, âThis is the same Congress which didnât allow PV Narasimha Raoâs mortal remains to come to the party hđ eadquarters, and his final cremation was done in Hyderabad.â
âWhen Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister, Congress went to Beijing and signed an MoU without his knowledge. When he completed two terms, their âYuva netasâ didnât show uđp for his farewell. Even today, when his ashes were immersed, our people were thereânot Congress,â he further charged.
"It's very unfortunate that former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and incumbent Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge are not refraining from playing politics even over the former prime mđinister's sad demise", Nadda said.
"No amount of condemnation is enough for such cheap thinking of the Congress. The Congress, which never gave real respect to Manmohan Singh when àČhe was alive, is now playing politics in the name of his respect," he added.
The Uđžnion minister said the government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi had allocated space for Singh's memorial and alsâo informed his family about it.
The BJP chief alleged thđat the Congress "tarnished and degraded" the position of the prime minister by đplacing Sonia Gandhi as "super prime minister" over Singh.
"Not just têŠŹhis. The way Rahul Gandhi insulted Manmohan SiđĄngh by tearing an ordinance, there is no other example of this," he added.
"The same Congress is today playing politics over the death of Manmohan Singh," the BJP chief said, alleging that the Gandhi family had not given respect to anyoneđœ except itself.
Nadda charged that the Gandhiꊰ family did not do justice to Singh or any other leader -- be them from the Congress or other parties -- citing the examples of BR Ambedkar, India's first president Rajendra Prasad, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, former prime ministers Lal Bï·șahadur Shastri, PV Narasimha Rao and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, ex-president Pranab Mukherjee and Sitaram Kesri.
(With PTI inputs)