<p>Bengaluru: Former prime minister <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/manmohan-singh">Manmohan Singh</a>, who <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/india/former-pm-manmohan-singh-passes-away-at-92-congress-3332964">passed away on Thursday </a>at the age of 92, was known for his calm and composed nature, but there were times when he spoke his mind in no uncertain terms. </p><p>L K Atheeq, Additional Chief Secretary (Finance), Karnataka, recalled anecdotes from his stint in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) 2007 to 2012, when Singh was the prime minister. </p>.When Indira, Rajiv, Rao and Sonia faced Manmohan’s resignation threats.<p>In the PMO, Atheeq was a director from 2007 to 2011 and a joint secretary from 2011 to 2012. </p><p>"I used to sit in cabinet meetings and out of all the chief ministers, the most irritable one was from West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee. Like everyone else who assumed Singh to be mild-mannered, she also would be passive aggressive towards him and throw her tantrums, but Singh wouldn’t say more than a word. He never lost his temper," Atheeq says. </p><p>However, Atheeq recalled, there was one incident in the Maldives when Singh raised his voice during the SAARC summit in 2011. </p><p>"It was a peaceful meeting until the then president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, started insisting that the long-standing issue of Minicoy Island be resolved," he says.</p>.Goodbye, my bhai: Malaysian PM recalls how Manmohan offered scholarships for his children.<p>Minicoy Island is a 4.8-sq km island on the southernmost tip of Lakshadweep. It lies near the 9 0 Channel, one of the busiest shipping routes. India and the Maldives settled their maritime boundary in 1976, which placed Minicoy Island on the Indian side. </p><p>"Manmohan Singh was, of course, not anticipating this as the Minicoy Island was discussed well in advance in the agenda for the SAARC Summit that year. However, after constant insistence from Nasheed, Singh just couldn't control and ended up raising his voice, which is very unlike him,” Atheeq recalled. </p><p>"Your excellency, this is not the way international agreements are negotiated and discussed. All the issues have been discussed at the office level and we are here to sign. You cannot raise new issues here. So let's proceed,” were the exact words by Singh, in an unusually assertive and loud voice, as recalled by Atheeq. He says, the summit in fact, ended peacefully after this. </p><p>Atheeq vividly recalls his first day in the Prime Minister’s Office in 2007. </p><p>"All officers who join the PMO greet the prime minister. I reached the prime minister’s residence where Singh was at his desk. What took me aback was that he stood up to greet me. He enquired about me, my background and also about my family," he said adding that Singh specifically enquired about Atheeq’s family while checking whether anything more needed to be done.</p>
<p>Bengaluru: Former prime minister <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/manmohan-singh">Manmohan Singh</a>, who <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/india/former-pm-manmohan-singh-passes-away-at-92-congress-3332964">passed away on Thursday </a>at the age of 92, was known for his calm and composed nature, but there were times when he spoke his mind in no uncertain terms. </p><p>L K Atheeq, Additional Chief Secretary (Finance), Karnataka, recalled anecdotes from his stint in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) 2007 to 2012, when Singh was the prime minister. </p>.When Indira, Rajiv, Rao and Sonia faced Manmohan’s resignation threats.<p>In the PMO, Atheeq was a director from 2007 to 2011 and a joint secretary from 2011 to 2012. </p><p>"I used to sit in cabinet meetings and out of all the chief ministers, the most irritable one was from West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee. Like everyone else who assumed Singh to be mild-mannered, she also would be passive aggressive towards him and throw her tantrums, but Singh wouldn’t say more than a word. He never lost his temper," Atheeq says. </p><p>However, Atheeq recalled, there was one incident in the Maldives when Singh raised his voice during the SAARC summit in 2011. </p><p>"It was a peaceful meeting until the then president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, started insisting that the long-standing issue of Minicoy Island be resolved," he says.</p>.Goodbye, my bhai: Malaysian PM recalls how Manmohan offered scholarships for his children.<p>Minicoy Island is a 4.8-sq km island on the southernmost tip of Lakshadweep. It lies near the 9 0 Channel, one of the busiest shipping routes. India and the Maldives settled their maritime boundary in 1976, which placed Minicoy Island on the Indian side. </p><p>"Manmohan Singh was, of course, not anticipating this as the Minicoy Island was discussed well in advance in the agenda for the SAARC Summit that year. However, after constant insistence from Nasheed, Singh just couldn't control and ended up raising his voice, which is very unlike him,” Atheeq recalled. </p><p>"Your excellency, this is not the way international agreements are negotiated and discussed. All the issues have been discussed at the office level and we are here to sign. You cannot raise new issues here. So let's proceed,” were the exact words by Singh, in an unusually assertive and loud voice, as recalled by Atheeq. He says, the summit in fact, ended peacefully after this. </p><p>Atheeq vividly recalls his first day in the Prime Minister’s Office in 2007. </p><p>"All officers who join the PMO greet the prime minister. I reached the prime minister’s residence where Singh was at his desk. What took me aback was that he stood up to greet me. He enquired about me, my background and also about my family," he said adding that Singh specifically enquired about Atheeq’s family while checking whether anything more needed to be done.</p>