Sukhbir Badal recalls close personal relation his father and Manmohan Singh shared

Chandigarh: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Sukhbir Singh Badal on Thursday recalled the close personal relationship and constructive political equation former prime minister Manmohan Singh shared with Akali stalwart Parkash Singh Badal.

Singh, the architect of India's economic reforms and a consensus builder in the rough world of politics, died at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, on Thursday night. He was 92.

Sukhbir Badal, a former deputy chief minister of Punjab, said that Singh, a democrat to the core, transcended the political party to which he belonged and ensured that the office of the prime minister remained above and beyond partisan politics.

"With the passing away of Dr Manmohan Singh, an era of statesmanship and civilised values in public life sadly comes to a close. Dr Sahib combined simplicity in personal life with decency, civility and uprightness in politics," Sukhbir Badal said.

"I recall the close personal relationship and constructive political equation which Dr Singh shared with my father and Akali stalwart, Sardar Parkash Singh Badal," he posted on X.

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"It was a tribute to Dr Singh's approach to the problems facing our country that he remained committed as Prime Minister to India's religious, cultural, linguistic and regional diversity and regarded the federal structure as the core and defining feature of our constitution and our national polity," Badal wrote.

He added that Singh regarded the safeguarding of the sentiments and interests of the minorities as crucial to strengthening the unity and integrity of the country. "He firmly opposed any governmental interference in their religious affairs," Badal said.

"He respected the autonomy in the functioning of the religious institutions of the minorities and firmly opposed governmental interference in the SGPC as he considered such interference as dangerous for the future of the country's strong federal structure and democratic values," he said.

Former Union minister and SAD leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal said the passing away of Singh is an irreparable loss to the value-based politics in the country.

"Till his very last breath, Dr Sahib remained completely untouched by the falling standards in India's public life. He remained quietly but firmly committed to the democratic values and the federal structure of our country, with an uncompromising stand against any govt interference in the religious affairs of the minorities," Harsimrat, who is also Sukhbir Badal's wife, posted on X.

She said the ex-PM's life was an ode to unimpeachable personal honesty and uprightness.