Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI: Leader of the Opposition in the Assam Assembly, Debabrata Saikia, has alleged that the state government violated the seven-day state mourning in honour of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Saikia sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought his intervention in the matter.
“Late Dr. Manmohan Singh was not just the former Prime Minister of India but was also a coveted member of the Rajya Sabha from Assam. He had represented the state of Assam from 1991 to 2019. The government that had declared a seven-day state mourning from December 26, 2024, to January 1, 2025, was found violating its own decision in complete disregard and disrepute to the legacy of the late Dr. Manmohan Singh. This was also a violation of the Union Cabinet decision to not hold any state function during the period of state mourning,” the senior Congress leader continued.
“The Government of Assam, including its officials, was found to be organising and celebrating scheme launches and programmes at the same time when Late Manmohan Singh’s funeral was being done and you were attending the funeral. Not only this, instead of observing a state mourning, the Government of Assam was seen to be acting as if it was business as usual,” he said.
Saikia argued that government scheme launch events could have been avoided, at least on the day of the funeral of Manmohan Singh.
“This act is very unfortunate while state mourning was declared by the Union Cabinet presided by you. In this regard, I pray to the conscience of yours to kindly treat this matter with utmost importance and see to it that the State of Assam does duly observe mourning and pays due homage to the legacy of the late Dr. Manmohan Singh,” he mentioned.
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