Former PM Manmohan Singh cremated with full state honours

NEW DELHI (PTI): The mortal remains of former prime minister Manmohan Singh were consigned to flames at the Nigambodh Ghat here on Saturday amid the chanting of religious hymns.

The funeral pyre was lit by his eldest daughter Upinder Singh.

The last rites were performed in the presence of President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, among other top leaders and foreign dignitaries.

King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Mauritius Foreign Minister Dhananjay Ramful were among the foreign dignitaries who paid their tributes to Singh .

Besides President Murmu and Prime Minister Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, and Leaders of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi were among the top leaders who paid their last tributes to the former prime minister.

Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, and the three services chiefs also paid their last respects to Singh.

The procession carrying Singh's mortal remains reached the crematorium at around 11.30 am, where the last rites will be performed shortly.

Draped in the Tricolour, the flower-bedecked casket was placed at a raised platform, where leaders cutting across party lines laid wreaths on Singh's mortal remains.

Earlier, the final journey of Singh began from the AICC headquarters on Saturday morning after Congress leaders paid homage to their departed leader.

The vehicle carrying the mortal remains of Singh left the Congress headquarters in a procession amid chants of "Manmohan Singh amar rahe".

A large number of Congress workers and leaders along with hundreds of Singh's well-wishers walked along as "Jab tak suraj chand rahega, tab tak tera naam rahega" slogans rent the air.

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, also accompanied the procession alongside Singh's relatives.

Singh's mortal remains were taken to the AICC headquarters from his residence on 3, Motilal Nehru Road a little before 9 am.

The mortal remains were kept there for about an hour, with several top Congress leaders, including Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, paying tributes, among others.

Singh's wife Gursharan Kaur and one of their daughters also laid a wreath on his body.

Singh passed away on Thursday night at Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences due to age-related medical complications. He was 92.

Considered the architect of India's economic reforms, Singh served as the prime minister for 10 years between 2004 and 2014.

A seven-day national mourning is being observed throughout the country as a mark of respect to the former prime minister during which the national flag will be flown at half-mast across the nation, the Union Home Ministry has announced.