New Delhi [India], December 28 : Congress leader KC Venugopal on Saturday slammed the "shoddy arrangements" made at the cremation of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, calling them deeply insulting.
He added that the "monumental insult" to the former Finance Minister was "unacceptable" and that India would "never forgive" Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"Mr Nadda and the BJP have crossed all boundaries of decency and have in fact compelled us to point out the rank hypocrisy and cheap political tricks of the BJP throughout the last two days. The shoddy arrangements and the Government's conduct at Dr. Manmohan Singh ji's cremation were deeply insulting and made it clear that the government was hell-bent on diminishing his stature for their petty political reasons," Venugopal posted on X.
He further said that the "attempts to cut corners were for all to see, and there were many instances where the family was insulted and the overall dignity and protocol befitting Dr Singh's stature was completely lacking."
"This monumental insult to Dr. Manmohan Singh is unacceptable and India will never forgive the PM and his Government for playing politics over the last rites of Dr. Singh," he added.
In a sharp rebuke, BJP National President and Union Health Minister JP Nadda accused the Congress party of 'politicising' former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's demise and engaging in 'cheap politics'. He alleged that the Congress party had never shown respect to the late veteran Manmohan Singh when he held office.
"It is indeed very unfortunate that former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and current president Mallikarjun Kharge are not refraining from doing politics even on the sad demise of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Congress, which never gave respect to Dr Manmohan Singh while he was alive, is now doing politics in the name of his respect," JP Nadda said.
"This is the same Congress which tarnished the dignity of the post of the Prime Minister by placing Sonia Gandhi as super PM above PM Manmohan Singh," Nadda added.
Taking a dig at the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, JP Nadda said, "Rahul Gandhi insulted PM Manmohan Singh by tearing the ordinance, and today the same Rahul Gandhi is doing politics over his demise."
JP Nadda also lashed out at the Gandhi family for not showing respect to other prominent leaders of the country, citing examples of Dr BR Ambedkar, Sardar Patel, and others.
"The Gandhi family has neither given respect to any big leader of the country nor done justice to them. Whether it is from the Congress party or the opposition, whether it is Baba Saheb Ambedkar, the country's first President Rajendra Babu, Sardar Patel, Lal Bahadur Shastri, PV Narasimha Rao, Pranab Da, Atal Bihari Vajpayee," he said.
Adding further, he said, "The government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given place for PM Manmohan Singh's Samadhi and has also informed the family. Still, Congress is spreading false news."
"It is necessary to remember the history of Congress. After the death of former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao, there was a demand to build a Samadhi Sthal in Delhi's Rajghat complex. But at that time Sonia Gandhi had rejected it. It was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who established a memorial for him in 2015. When former President Bharat Ratna Dr Pranab Mukherjee passed away in 2020, the Congress Working Committee did not even bother to call a condolence meeting," said Nadda.
"Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and other Congress party leaders should refrain from such cheap politics," said Nadda.
However, the Congress is facing criticism for not giving similar respect to former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao. The UPA government had rejected requests for separate memorials in the national capital citing lack of space.
Earlier today, Rahul Gandhi too attacked the central government for performing the last rites of Manmohan Singh at Nigambodh Ghat and said that the former Finance Minister deserves the "highest respect and a memorial."
"The great son of India and the first Prime Minister of the Sikh community, Dr. Manmohan Singh ji has been totally insulted by the present government by performing his last rites today at the Nigambodh Ghat," Rahul Gandhi posted on X.
After the Cabinet meeting on Friday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah communicated to Congress President Kharge and the family of the late Manmohan Singh that the Government will allocate space for the memorial. In the meanwhile, cremation and other formalities can happen because a trust has to be formed and space has to be allocated to it.
Manmohan Singh was accorded a state funeral with military honours at the Nigam Bodh Ghat, a public cremation ground in north Delhi, on Saturday.
Manmohan Singh passed away at AIIMS, Delhi, on Thursday night at the age of 92 due to age-related medical conditions. He had a sudden loss of consciousness at home after which he was rushed to the hospital.