'Deference To Privacy': Congress On Why Gandhi Family Didn't Attend Manmohan Singh's Immersion Of Ashes

New Delhi: The Congress party issued a clarification on Monday on BJP’s allegations that the top party leaders did not accompany the family for the immersion of the ashes of former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.

The party stated that senior Congress leaders did not accompany the family out of their “deference to the privacy” of the family of Dr. Singh. “Senior Congress leaders did not accompany the family to gather and immerse the ashes of S. Manmohan Singh ji out of our deference to the privacy of the family,” read the statement.

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AICC’s media and publicity chairperson Pawan Khera said, “After the cremation of our beloved late leader, Smt. Sonia Gandhi ji and Smt. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra ji met the family at his residence.”

“After discussing with them, it was felt that since the family did not get any privacy during the cremation and some of the family members were unable to reach the pyre, it would be appropriate to give them some privacy for picking flowers and immersion of ashes, which is an emotionally painful and difficult time for close family members,” read the statement.

Following Sikh rituals, the ashes of Dr. Manmohan Singh were immersed in the Yamuna River near the Majnu ka Tila Gurdwara on Sunday by his family members. His wife, Gursharan Kaur, and their three daughters—Upinder Singh, Daman Singh, and Amrit Singh—were present at the ceremony along with other relatives.

The clarification comes after the BJP criticised the absence of members of the Gandhi family during the immersion of the ashes of Singh. The saffron party’s IT department head, Amit Malviya, accused the Congress and the Gandhi family of only seeking “media attention.”

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“For media attention and to politicise, Congress was present, but when it came to honouring him with dignity, they were absent. Truly shameful,” said Malviya in an X post.

Dr. Manmohan Singh died on Thursday night at AIIMS Delhi at the age of 92. He is widely attributed as the architect of the Indian economy for transforming and making it one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.