NEW DELHI: The government has “earmarked” a site in Rashtriya Smriti Sthal for a memorial to late President Pranab Mukherjee. This comes amid speculation that the government will allocate a site for former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s memorial very soon. Singh’s family is likely to visit the government-selected sites in Smriti Sthal and adjoining areas in Raj Ghat district soon, sources said.
The designation of the site for the Mukherjee memorial was made public by the late president’s daughter Sharmistha Mukherjee in a tweet on Tuesday after meeting Prime Minister Modi. The land and development office (L&DO) of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs designated the site on January 1. Sources said as per norms, the site will be allotted to a trust after its creation.
The order read: “The competent authority has approved the designation of a designated site within the ‘Rashtriya Smriti’ complex (a part of the Raj Ghat compound) for erecting a samadhi of late Pranab Mukherjee, former President.”
In a post on It is more appreciated considering that we did not ask Immensely touched by this unexpected but truly kind gesture of the Prime Minister… Baba used to say that state honors should not be asked but offered I am very grateful for this Prime Minister Modi did this. to honor Baba’s memory. It does not affect Baba where he is now, beyond applause or criticism. But for his daughter, words are not enough to express my joy.
Sources said as per norms, the site will be allotted to a trust after its creation. But the site designation makes it clear that a memorial will be built there. The former president was cremated with full state honors at the Lodhi Road Electric Crematorium on September 1, 2020. Sources said the same process is likely to be adopted for Singh’s memorial of allocating a place and allocating it when there is a trust.
TOI has learned that an undeveloped land space near Raj Ghat, sites in Rashtriya Smriti Sthal and around Sadaiv Atal, the Atal Bihari Vajpayee memorial, have been shortlisted for the Singh memorial. But the final decision will be taken after his family gives consent. Although the family was scheduled to visit the places on Sunday, it was postponed.
Sharmistha had attacked the Congress after it accused the Modi government of “insulting” Singh by holding his state funeral at Delhi’s Nigambodh Ghat. He said that when his father passed away, the Congress did not even bother to call the CWC for a condolence meeting. He also said that a senior representative told him that this is not done for presidents. “That is complete nonsense, as I later learned from Baba’s diaries that after the death of KR Narayanan, CWC was called and the condolence message was composed solely by Baba,” he had posted on X.