The UP link behind Manmohan Singh's famous demonetisation speech, Urdu couplet in Parliament

Lucknow, Dec 28 (PTI) Former prime minister Manmohan Singh's historic speech in the Rajya Sabha on demonetisation, two weeks after the then NDA government recalled high-value currency notes in November 2016, might not have happened had senior politician from Uttar Pradesh Pramod Tiwari not persuaded him.

Speaking to PTI over the phone, Tiwari recounted the events that eventually led to Singh's hard-hitting speech on November 24, 2016.

"I remember that after demonetisation, we all wanted Dr Singh to speak given the fact that apart from being a former prime minister, he was a distinguished economist. I approached him but he said he would rather not speak given the atmosphere in Parliament," the Congress' Rajya Sabha MP said.

"I asked if he would be willing to speak if the House listened to him attentively. He responded, 'Pramodji if you can promise that, I will agree.' So I approached the then leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley, who assured me of his cooperation.

"I also approached other opposition parties as the larger alliance of the opposition had not been formed till then. After he was convinced that he would be heard in silence, Dr Singh spoke, and the House listened to him with rapt attention as the contents of his speech were so powerful," Tiwari recalled.

"In that hard-hitting speech, the former prime minister slammed the demonetisation drive as monumental mismanagement, organised loot and plunder," the Congress leader said, praising Singh for his ability to make the right choice from a "myriad of suggestions".

Singh died of age-related complications at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi on Thursday night. His last rites were performed at Delhi's Nigambodh Ghat in the presence of a galaxy of top leaders on Saturday.

Singh was the prime minister from 2004 to 2014.

Another Uttar Pradesh leader, Zafar Ali Naqvi, recalled an interesting episode from when he was the Lok Sabha MP from Lakhimpur Kheri (2009-2014).

"There was a time when the opposition was frequently targeting our government. BJP veteran Sushma Swarajji was the leader of the opposition then and would frequently take recourse to poetry to slam or question the government and Manmohan Singhji's silence," the former state minister told PTI.

"I knew he (Singh) had a great taste for Urdu poetry and was also using it to counter political criticism. That is why I suggested a couplet to him to convey a point. He liked it and recited the same, and it became an instant hit," Naqvi said.

The couplet he referred to was recited by Singh both inside Parliament as well as outside while taking media queries: "Hazaaron jawabon se acchi hai meri khamoshi, na jaane kitne sawalon ki aabroo rakhi (My silence outdoes a thousand replies, it saves the grace of innumerable posers)." "We both shared the same love for poetry. I was among those who shared a great rapport with him (Singh). That is why, Dr Singh came to campaign for me when I contested the 2014 Lok Sabha polls from Lakhimpur Kheri. He addressed two rallies, one in Kheri and the other in Pilibhit's Puranpur, and those were his last public rallies in Uttar Pradesh," Naqvi added.

In those rallies, Singh had hit out at the BJP, but despite the hard-hitting contents of his speech, he was neither shrill nor did he stoop low to target his political rivals, the former minister recalled.

Congress functionary from Puranpur Harpreet Singh Chabba told PTI that the former prime minister was easygoing in his approach and would respect religious sentiments.

"For Sikhs, a kirpan (sword or dagger) has its own importance. When Singh arrived in Puranpur for his rally, we wanted to greet him with a sword. However, due to security concerns, the SPG stopped us. Later, on the intervention of Singh's personal secretary, we were allowed to go ahead but with the rider that the sword would not be drawn from the scabbard.

"We approached the prime minister and sought his cooperation. He immediately agreed and drew the sword himself from the scabbard and waved it too," Chabba recalled. PTI MAN IJT