Revanth Reddy Unveils Manmohan Singh Statue, Seeks Bharat Ratna for Former PM

Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Saturday urged the Central government to confer the Bharat Ratna on former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and to establish a knowledge centre in his name in Delhi, describing the late leader as a "pride of the nation".

Speaking after unveiling a statue of Singh at Wipro Circle in Hyderabad's Financial District, Mr. Reddy said certain decisions ought to be taken above political considerations. He asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take the initiative and said Telangana's MPs would raise the matter in Parliament.

The Chief Minister expressed disappointment that the Union government had not yet moved to set up a lasting memorial to Singh in Delhi. He said the statue had been installed in the Financial District because several institutions central to the country's financial system operate from the area, making it a fitting location to commemorate Singh's contribution to the Indian economy.

Mr. Reddy credited Singh and former Congress president Sonia Gandhi with fulfilling the decades-old demand for a separate Telangana State. A replica of Singh's signature on the legislation creating Telangana was displayed at the venue.

Recalling Singh's tenure as Reserve Bank of India Governor and as Union Finance Minister in the P. V. Narasimha Rao government, Mr. Reddy said he had helped the country recover from the 1991 economic crisis. The liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation policies initiated in that period had transformed the Indian economy, he said, adding that Singh had taken the country's economy to new heights with "silent determination".

The Chief Minister also cited the Right to Education Act, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and the 2013 Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act as significant measures introduced during Singh's term. The rehabilitation law, he noted, extended compensation rights even to landless poor affected by land acquisition.

Former Chief Justice of India N. V. Ramana and former Supreme Court judge Justice B. Sudarshan Reddy spoke about their association with Singh during his time as Prime Minister, recalling his simplicity and modest financial circumstances despite holding the country's highest executive office.

Former economic adviser Mohan Guruswamy, Ministers D. Sridhar Babu and Adluri Lakshman Kumar, MPs Vem Narender Reddy and Anil Kumar Yadav, MLAs Arekapudi Gandhi and Naveen Yadav, MLC Kuchukulla Damodar Reddy and senior officials attended the programme.