Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri Photo: PTI Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri Photo: PTI

A day after Congress levelled an allegation of 'insulting' the country's first Sikh prime minister Manmohan Singh by performing his last rites at Nigam Bodh Ghat instead of a designated spot that could be turned into his memorial,Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Sunday accused the Congress of engaging in “dirty politics” .

"The present government has insulted the great son of Mother India and the first prime minister of the Sikh community, Dr Manmohan Singh ji, by performing his last rites at the Nigam Bodh Ghat today," Rahul Gandhi posted on X.

'Congress insults its own leaders': Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri

Retaliating to the accusations, Puri said, “There is no controversy, but it is being created. The Congress is playing dirty politics” while adding that, “Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge wrote a letter, and the Home Ministry released a communication agreeing to their request. The letter reached us the day after Singh’s demise, at three minutes past midnight”, as per a report by India Today.

Attributing the decision of conducting the last rites at Nigam Bodh Ghat to logistical challenges, the union minister reportedly said, “The area around Rajghat is flat and prone to water-logging. The weather forecast predicted heavy rain. Ask the Congress if it was possible to erect structures in such conditions in a short time.”

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Pointing out a few instances, Puri highlighted that instead of the BJP, Congress itself "insulted" its own leaders in the past while saying, “This is the same Congress which didn’t allow PV Narasimha Rao’s mortal remains to come to the party headquarters, and his final cremation was done in Hyderabad.”

#WATCH | Delhi | On Congress alleging BJP of dishonouring former PM Manmohan Singh, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri says, "There is no controversy but it is being created. Congress party is isolated in the INDI alliance and even in the country... This the the Congress which… pic.twitter.com/IUa16yiHLB

— ANI (@ANI) December 29, 2024

“When Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister, Congress went to Beijing and signed an MoU without his knowledge. When he completed two terms, their ‘Yuva netas’ didn’t show up for his farewell. Even today, when his ashes were immersed, our people were there—not Congress,” he further charged.

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'Playing politics': JP Nadda's remarks on 'insult' allegation

Before Puri, BJP president J P Nadda on Saturday also accused the Congress of indulging in "cheap politics" over the former prime minister's cremation.

"It's very unfortunate that former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and incumbent Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge are not refraining from playing politics even over the former prime minister's sad demise", Nadda said.

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"No amount of condemnation is enough for such cheap thinking of the Congress. The Congress, which never gave real respect to Manmohan Singh when he was alive, is now playing politics in the name of his respect," he added.

The Union minister said the government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi had allocated space for Singh's memorial and also informed his family about it.

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The BJP chief alleged that the Congress "tarnished and degraded" the position of the prime minister by placing Sonia Gandhi as "super prime minister" over Singh.

"Not just this. The way Rahul Gandhi insulted Manmohan Singh by tearing an ordinance, there is no other example of this," he added.

"The same Congress is today playing politics over the death of Manmohan Singh," the BJP chief said, alleging that the Gandhi family had not given respect to anyone except itself.

Nadda charged that the Gandhi family did not do justice to Singh or any other leader -- be them from the Congress or other parties -- citing the examples of BR Ambedkar, India's first president Rajendra Prasad, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, former prime ministers Lal Bahadur Shastri, PV Narasimha Rao and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, ex-president Pranab Mukherjee and Sitaram Kesri.

(With PTI inputs)naga casino

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