Even as the Congress and BJP indulge in a blame game over setting up of a memorial for former PM Manmohan Singh, the spotlight has shifted to memorials for former prime ministers, which dot the national capital’s landscape. Although all…

Animesh Singh Tribune News Service

Even as the Congress and BJP indulge in a blame game over setting up of a memorial for former PM Manmohan Singh, the spotlight has shifted to memorials for former prime ministers, which dot the national capital’s landscape.

Although all former prime ministers, including acting PM Gulzari Lal Nanda, have memorials commemorating their memories, the only exception is Vishwanath Pratap Singh, who does not have any memorial in his name.

Last year, when Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin unveiled Singh’s statue at Presidency College in Chennai, his son Ajeya Pratap Singh lamented that there was no portrait of his father in Parliament, and not even a memorial anywhere in the country, to commemorate his memory. Singh was the country’s prime minister between December 1989 and November 1990.

Apart from PV Narasimha Rao, Morarji Desai and Nanda (whose memorials are situated in various parts of the country), all other prime ministers have their memorials situated in the Raj Ghat complex, on the banks of the Yamuna in the national capital.

Incidentally, all former prime ministers, whose memorials are situated in the Raj Ghat complex, were also cremated in the same area. However, Manmohan Singh’s cremation took place at Nigambodh Ghat, where no former PM has been cremated so far.

Amid the controversy, the Centre has assured his family and the Congress that a memorial will come up for Singh once a trust is formed and land is allotted.

First PM Jawaharlal Nehru’s samadhi, Shanti Van, is situated right adjacent to Mahatma Gandhi’s samadhi at Raj Ghat. Lal Bahadur Shastri, who became the PM after Nehru, also has a samadhi on the same stretch of land near the Yamuna, named Vijay Ghat.

Indira Gandhi, who succeeded Shastri after his untimely demise in 1966, has her samadhi, Shakti Sthal, next to her father’s. Her son Rajiv Gandhi’s samadhi, Vir Bhumi, is situated next to his mother’s. Rajiv Gandhi was the PM from 1984 till 1989.

Desai and Chaudhary Charan Singh, who became prime ministers in quick succession after the Janata Party government had come to power post the Emergency in 1977, also have their memorials. While Charan Singh’s memorial Kisan Ghat is situated in the Raj Ghat complex, the one erected in Desai’s memory — Abhay Ghat — is siuated on the banks of the Sabarmati in Ahmedabad.

Rao, who was the PM from 1991 till 1996 and under whose leadership Manmohan Singh became the finance minister, has a memorial — Gyan Bhumi — in Hyderabad.

Though Rao had died in New Delhi in 2004, his memorial came up in 2015 in Hyderabad. Soon after coming to power, the Narendra Modi-led NDA government had proposed to build the memorial in Rao’s name. It was fast-tracked by then union urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu.

Chandra Shekhar, who served as the PM from November 1990 and June 1991, also has a memorial — Jana Nayak Sthal — in the Raj Ghat complex.

Inder Kumar Gujral, who held office between April 1997 and March 1998, has a memorial — Smriti Sthal — in the Raj Ghat complex.

Nanda, who became the acting PM after Nehru’s death on May 27, 1964, for 10 days and then again after Shastri’s untimely death on January 11, 1966, till January 24, 1966, has a memorial, Sadachar Sthal, in Kurukshetra. Atal Behari Vajpayee, who became the PM twice — first in 1996 and then in 1998 — was cremated at the Raj Ghat complex.