Bhatti Backs Manmohan Singh's Statue in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: The Telangana Legislative Assembly on Monday passed a resolution unanimously demanding that former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh be conferred the Bharat Ratna and installing a statue of Singh in the city’s financial district.

Members from the treasury and opposition benches paid tributes to Singh in the special convened Assembly session here on Monday.

They recalled Singh’s landmark decisions like bringing about financial reforms such as globalisation, liberalisation and privatisation in the country.

Welcoming Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s motion tabled in the Assembly to pay tributes to Singh, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka said that Singh’s name will remain etched for as long as the state of Telangana exists. Despite not having the necessary strength in Parliament to give a nod to Telangana state, then UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and then prime minister Singh got the Telangana Bill passed by convincing the opposition, he said.

“Manmohan Singh was the first prime minister in the country to waive off farmer loans, and today he is the inspiration for the Rs.2 lakh loan waiver scheme in the state. I fully support the resolution to install a statue of Singh in Hyderabad and bestow the Bharat Ratna to him," he said.

Bhatti Vikramarka said that the remarkable aspect of Singh was that he understood the country’s economic and social conditions and came up with reforms in due accordance. He brought the Right to Information Act, the Employment Guarantee Scheme Act that changed the course of the country, the Forest Rights Act and the Land Acquisition Act while repealing the inhumane Scavengers Act. Singh also helped the world see India in a new and envious light, he said.