NEW DELHI: The ashes of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh were immersed in the Yamuna river near the Majnu ka Tila Gurdwara on Sunday by his family members as per the Sikh rituals.
Sources here said that Singh’s family members collected the ashes from the Nigambodh Ghat in the morning. “After collecting it from the site of cremation, the ashes were carried to the ‘Asht Ghat’ on the Yamuna river bank near the gurdwara and immersed into the river.
The ritual was attended by Singh’s wife, Gursharan Kaur, and his three daughters, Upinder Singh, Daman Singh and Amrit Singh, along with other close relatives,” a source said. He said that none of the senior Congress leaders or the Gandhi family could be seen accompanying the family at the immersion site.
On January 3, an ‘Akhand Path’ would be held at the late PM’s official residence 3, Motilal Nehru Marg, while some prayers were also held on Sunday at the Gurudwara.
Sources close to the Singh family said that a traditional “blog ceremony, ‘Antim Ardas’ and ‘kirtan’, have also been planned on the same day at the Rakab Ganj Gurdwara, located near the Parliament complex.
Paying its tribute to the late leader, the Congress, in an X post, said, “We all will always remember Manmohan Singh Ji’s service to the nation, his dedication and simplicity”.
Meanwhile, senior BJP leader and head of the party’s IT cell Amit Malviya slammed the Congress and its leaders for not accompanying Singh’s family to the cremation ground to collect ashes. “Very sad to see that not a single member of Congress or the Gandhi family showed up to collect the remains of Dr Manmohan Singh Ji. For Media attention and to politicise, Congress was present, but they were absent when it came to honouring him with dignity. Truly shameful,” Malviya shared on ‘X’.
Another BJP senior leader, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, too flayed the Congress leaders for their absence during the rituals.
