New Delhi:Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was cremated at the Nigambodh ghat with full state honours in the national capital on Saturday in the presence of top dignitaries from the country and abroad. The funeral pyre was lit by his eldest daughter, Upinder Singh, as family members, friends and dignitaries bid farewell to the reformist former Prime Minister.
President of India Draupadi Murmu, vice-president Jagdeep Dhankhar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were present at the Nigambodh ghat. The high command of the Congress, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, were also present.
Priests and family members recited religious hymns from the holy Gurbani, while chants of "Satnam Waheguru" filled the air as Singh was cremated according to the Sikh rituals.
Before Singh's mortal remains were consigned to flames, the security forces gave a salute of three volleys of small arms and the buglers sounded the "Last Post" as a mark of honour for the former Prime Minister.
Earlier in the day, Manmohan Singh's body, placed in a flower-bedecked casket and carriage, was taken from his 3, Motilal Nehru residence in Lutyens' Delhi to the headquarters of the Congress party, which he represented in Parliament for 33 long years.
At the Congress office, Kharge, Mrs Gandhi, Gandhi and Vadra paid rich tributes to their leader, as did thousands of party workers who had gathered to catch a last glimpse of Singh.
The former Prime Minister's final journey then started from the AICC office to the Nigambodh Ghat, where the procession reached around 11:30 am. A large crowd had gathered at the AICC office as well as at the Nigambodh Ghat.
The vehicle carrying the mortal remains of Singh left his residence a little before 9 am. The procession moved forward amid chants of "Manmohan Singh amar rahe". A number of Congress workers and leaders, along with hundreds of Singh's well-wishers, walked along chanting — “jab tak suraj-chand rahega, tab tak tera naam rahega".
King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and the foreign minister of Mauritius, Dhananjay Ramful, were among the foreign dignitaries who paid tributes to Singh, who served as the Prime Minister from 2004 to 2014.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh, Union home minister Amit Shah and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla also paid their last tributes to the former Prime Minister and laid wreaths on his mortal remains. Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan and the chiefs of the tri-services also laid wreaths on the former Prime Minister's mortal remains.
Several chief ministers, including Siddaramaiah (Karnataka), Revanth Reddy (Telangana), Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu (Himachal Pradesh) and Atishi (Delhi), besides Delhi lieutenant-governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, also attended the last rites of Singh.
Sources close to the family said "Akhand path" will be held at Singh's residence on January 1 and "bhog" will be held on January 3. They said the Antim Ardas and kirtan for Singh will be conducted at the Gurdwara Rakab Ganj in the evening of January 3.
