'Manmohan steered country's economy during critical period': Narasimha Rao's daughter condoles former PM's death

Hyderabad: Manmohan Singh steered the country's economy towards progress during a critical period as finance minister and later made praiseworthy contributions as prime minister, said Vani Devi, daughter of former PM P V Narasimha Rao.

Vani Devi, an MLC of Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS), said the situation in the country would have been unimaginable had the economic reforms undertaken by Singh as finance minister been not taken up.

Singh never hankered for power but positions came to him because of his intellect and abilities, she told PTI. Singh was a good friend of her father and he was always warm and fatherly in his interactions with her though they were mostly on formal occasions, Vani Devi said, offering condolences to the family members of the former.

Narasimha Rao's grandson and Telangana BJP spokesperson N V Subhash said Singh was an extraordinary economist whose expertise helped shape the modern Indian economy.

Singh's political journey is deeply intertwined with Narasimha Rao who brought him into politics and appointed him as finance minister. It was under Narasimha Rao’s visionary leadership that Singh initiated economic reforms that transformed India, he said.

However, the decision during Singh’s premiership to deny Narasimha Rao a burial site in New Delhi had deeply hurt many people, Subhash said in a statement.

“While Singh is widely celebrated as the architect of India’s economic reforms, it is essential to remember the pivotal role played by PV Narasimha Rao in facilitating those reforms. History must give credit where it is due,” he said.

Saying that Singh’s tenure as prime minister was marked by challenges, Subhash recalled Rahul Gandhi, without mentioning the Congress leader's name, publicly dismissing an ordinance passed by the Union Cabinet in 2013.

The incident had hurt many Indians who respected Singh for his dignity and intellect, he said. Despite the controversies, BJP, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has always regarded Singh as one of the finest persons in Indian politics, Subhash added.