Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Monday demanded India’s highest civilian honour for former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.
He made the demand while moving a condolence motion to begin the special session convened to pay tributes to the late leader.
The resolution expressed profound grief at the demise of Dr Manmohan Singh and conveyed a deep sense of sympathy to the members of the bereaved family.
Members cutting across party lines paid rich tributes to Manmohan Singh and recalled his close association with Telangana.
The main Opposition, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) fully supported the demand for conferring Bharat Ratna on Manmohan Singh. BRS leader K. T. Rama Rao said they believe that the late leader deserves the highest honour.
The Chief Minister also suggested that a statue of the late Prime Minister be installed in the Financial District in Hyderabad to honour his memory and in recognition of the close association he had with Telangana.
The Chief Minister said that installing the statue at a prominent place will enable people to pay tributes to the late leader on his birth and death anniversaries and take inspiration from him.
Terming Manmohan Singh’s demise a great loss for the country, Revanth Reddy said his services to the country can never be forgotten.
The Chief Minister noted that Manmohan Singh served as an advisor to the Union Finance Ministry, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, the Finance Minister and then as Prime Minister.
He noted that Manmohan Singh was very close to Telangana. The people of Telangana will always remember him as he fulfilled their 60-year-old dream of Telangana state.
Revanth Reddy recalled that it was at Mahabubnagar that as Prime Minister, he had launched Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme for 100 days of assured employment in a year.
He said that Manmohan also launched the unique identity number Aadhaar which brought a social revolution in the country. It was Manmohan Singh who brought in legislations like Food Security and Right to Information.
Manmohan Singh brought the Forest Rights Act in 2006, and enacted Land Acquisition law in 2013 for fair compensation to people losing their lands. The simplified policies introduced by him brought a transformation in the country.
Revanth Reddy recalled that Manmohan Singh had joined the protest by the MPs for safeguarding democracy. He said that he would always remember those moments.
KTR recalled that when son of Telangana, P. V. Narasimha Rao was the Prime Minister, he brought Manmohan Singh into the government through lateral entry. Manmohan Singh, who had served in the Reserve Bank of India, was made the Finance Minister.
Terming the late leader a great economist, the BRS leader said in his very first Budget speech in 1991, Manmohan Singh had stated that the entire world will hear about India.
The BRS leader said that Manmohan Singh was another name for simple living, high thinking.
Stating that loyalty and commitment are rare in today’s politics, KTR said that Manmohan Singh was a great leader who remained loyal to Congress which had given him an opportunity.
(IANS)
