Narasimha Rao’s insult returns to bite Congress as it corners BJP over memorial for Manmohan Singh

New Delhi: Konatham Dileep, a key member of K Chandrashekar Rao's Bharat Rashtra Samithi and Telangana's former Digital Media Director, on Saturday asked the Congress why it humiliated its own prime minister PV Narasimha Rao. 

Dileep’s remarks wear significance in the context of politics being played around the memorial for former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh. 

An X post by Dileep highlighted the differential treatment of former Indian Prime Ministers by their own political party, the Congress. 

In the post, Dileep highlighted the stark contrast in the posthumous honors given to Dr Singh and Rao, both former Prime Ministers of India.

According to Dileep, while Dr. Manmohan Singh, who recently passed away, was accorded a state funeral and a memorial in New Delhi by the Union BJP government following a request from the Congress Party, PV Narasimha Rao did not receive similar honours when he died in 2004. 

Rao, who served as Prime Minister from 1991 to 1996, was a lifelong Congress member, yet was denied a state funeral in the capital by the same party.

Dileep questioned why Rao's body was not allowed inside the All India Congress Committee (AICC) Headquarters, a tradition followed for other deceased Congress leaders. Instead, Rao's remains were swiftly flown to Hyderabad, his hometown, without the ceremonial state funeral in New Delhi that is customary for former Prime Ministers.

Dileep also highlighted the distressing manner in which Rao's funeral was conducted. Dileep mentioned that the Congress government in Andhra Pradesh at the time failed to ensure a proper funeral, resulting in Rao's body being left half-burnt at the site, an incident that was shockingly broadcast live by a TV channel.

Moreover, Dileep raised concerns about the lack of a memorial for Rao in New Delhi, where all other former Prime Ministers have been commemorated. 

This absence, according to him, is a significant oversight by the Congress Party, which has failed to honor Rao's contributions to the nation, particularly his role in initiating economic reforms that helped steer India through a financial crisis in the early '90s.

Dear @RahulGandhi Ji,

It is good to hear that former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh Ji is being accorded a state funeral and that the Union BJP government has agreed to allocate space for a memorial dedicated to him, following a request from the Congress Party.

May I now ask… pic.twitter.com/OzkjLxRji1

— Konatham Dileep (@KonathamDileep) December 28, 2024

Many in Telangana, Rao's home state, have openly expressed in the past that the Congress Party has insulted one of their own by not giving him the respect posthumously that he deserved.