- Tuesday, February 25, 2025
Modi said it was not about who Singh was supporting but that “he was only strengthening this democracy”.
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi is not known for praising his opposition, particularly the Indian National Congress, which he accuses of promoting dynastic politics.
But on Thursday (8) morning, the Indian parliament remained witness to a rare moment when the prime minister praised Manmohan Singh, his predecessor and a leader of the Congress, and called him an “inspiration” for lawmakers. He said this while bidding farewell to the retiring parliamentarians.
Why did Modi praise Singh, 91?
The incumbent PM, who succeeded Singh in 2014, recalled the latter reaching the parliament in a wheelchair to cast his vote over an important legislation in August last year.
Read: Bharat Ratna, India’s highest award, for LK Advani: Modi
“I remember during the voting in the House, it was known that the treasury bench would win but Dr Manmohan Singh came on his wheelchair and cast his vote. This an example of a member being alert of his duties. He was an inspirational example,” Modi said while making a speech in the Rajya Sabha or Upper House of the parliament in the ongoing budget session.
Read:
Singh is a member of the chamber from the north-eastern state of Assam.
Modi said it was not about who Singh was supporting but that “he was only strengthening this democracy”. He also wished for a long life for the ailing former prime minister.
Singh had also come to the parliament in a wheelchair during the presidential election in 2022 to cast his ballot as an MP.
Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, strongly criticised the Congress over Singh’s presence in the parliament in a wheelchair, accusing it of using the ailing man for political gains.
Recalling Singh’s contribution as a leader and the opposition, Modi said, “Ideological differences are short lived, but the way Manmohan Singh has guided this House and the country for such a long period, he will be remembered for his contributions during every discussion on our democracy.”
Singh was a key figure in initiating India’s game-changing economic reforms in 1991 when he was the finance minister in the government of then prime minister PV Narasimha Rao.
Congress chief and the Rajya Sabha’s opposition leader Mallikarjun Kharge, who had an exchange of words with Modi the previous day, thanked the latter for his words on Singh.
“Manmohan Singh did good work. I thank the PM for his words. This is how things should be. Appreciate good work and criticise the bad,” Kharge said.
