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Former Prime Minister of India Dr Manmohan Singh on Wednesday will retire from the Rajya Sabha, putting an end to his three-decade-long parliamentary innings in the Upper House.

The development is just as former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi is set to mark her debut in the Rajya Sabha. Sonia Gandhi will enter the Upper House of Parliament from Rajasthan filling the seat left vacant by Dr Singh.

On this occasion, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge penned an emotional letter to the former Prime Minister of India. In his letter, Kharge said that an era came to an end with Singh’s retirement.

He also said that Manmohan Singh will remain a “hero” to the middle class and aspirational youth. He also hailed the former Prime Minister as a “leader and guide to the industrialists and entrepreneurs, and a benefactor to all those poor who were able to climb out of poverty due to your economic policies.”

Kharge also claimed that the foundation of the “little reforms done by the current government” lies the work initiated by the UPA government. He listed out initiatives like creating zero-balance bank accounts, Aadhaar cards, and deregulation of petrol and diesel prices. 

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Full text of Mallikarjun Kharge’s letter to Manmohan Singh

An era ends today as you retire from the Rajya Sabha, having served for almost thirty years. There are very few who can claim to have served our country with greater devotion and dedication than you. You have done more for this country and its citizens than most others have.

Being a member of your cabinet has been an honor for me. You have been an inspiration to me and someone I have respected for guidance over the past ten years as the head of the Congress Party in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. Despite personal inconveniences, you have made it a point to be available for the Congress party during the past few years. The party and I will always be appreciative of this.

You have shown that economic policies can be adopted that benefit big industry, young people starting their firms, small businesses, the salaried class, and the impoverished equally. You were the one who demonstrated that even the impoverished can contribute to the development of their country and escape poverty. During your tenure as Prime Minister, India managed to bring 27 crore people out of poverty, the largest number of impoverished people in the world. This was made possible by your policies.

During difficult times, rural workers continue to receive assistance from the MGNREGA program, which was started under your administration. Through this program, you have made sure that the country, and especially the rural poor, may live with dignity and earn a living. For this, they will always be grateful.

The patriotic legacy of the Congress party and its spirit of sacrifice was ably demonstrated by you when you decided to pursue the Indo-US Nuclear Deal even if it meant putting your government at risk for the sake of the nation’s security. This was a historic moment when you led India to take her rightful place in the world and you showed your strength as an uncompromising negotiator.

The respect and regard that the Presidents of the United States and other world leaders had for you made this possible. Their respect for you further increased during the Global Financial Crisis. I remember President Obama mentioning to you that “Whenever the Indian Prime Minister speaks, the whole world listens to him.” These are only a few instances that I am mentioning out of your many contributions to the nation.

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We live in times that are largely shaped by you. The economic prosperity and stability that we enjoy today are built on the foundations laid by you along with our former Prime Minister, Bharat Ratna, Shri P.V. Narasimha Rao. The current set of leaders who have reaped the benefits of your work are reluctant to credit you due to political biases.

They seem to go out of their way to speak ill about you and make personal attacks against you. However, we also know that you are large-hearted enough not to hold that against anyone. 

Whatever little reforms done by the current government have their seeds in the work initiated by the UPA government headed by you. The work initiated by your government to ensure the direct transfer of benefits to individual beneficiaries by creating zero balance accounts, and unique identification of the beneficiary through Aadhaar was hijacked by the succeeding government without giving you credit.

In some cases, the good work initiated by you seems to be slowly undone. The difficult work of deregulation of petrol and diesel prices done by you seems to have been completely undone by the current government. The current government is levying high taxes on the common man, while oil companies are enjoying the benefits of low oil prices. Yet another area where the government has regressed is the increasing economic inequality and a growing number of people who are forced to seek subsistence from the government.

The nation misses the quiet yet strong dignity that you brought to the office of the Prime Minister. The Parliament will now miss your wisdom and experience. Your dignified, measured, soft-spoken yet statesman-like words are in contrast to the loud voices filled with lies that signify the current politics. The current political situation is such that unscrupulousness is being equated with astute leadership.

I still recall your speech on demonetization which you termed a “monumental management failure” and “an organized loot and legalized plunder”, which has proved to be a grim reality. You showed it is possible to criticize without getting personal. The nation and the people will soon see through the lies of the current government. Just like how the sun and the moon can never be hidden, the truth can also never be hidden. People will realize the importance of your words soon.

You will always remain a hero to the middle class and the aspirational youth, a leader and guide to the industrialists and entrepreneurs, and a benefactor to all those poor who were able to climb out of poverty due to your economic policies.

Even as you retire from active politics, I hope that you will continue to be the voice of wisdom and moral compass to the nation by speaking to the citizens of our country as often as possible. I wish you peace, health, and happiness.

Manmohan Singh’s Rajya Sabha debut

Manmohan Singh, who is known for bringing the landmark 1991 economic reforms of liberalization, privatization, and globalization with former PM Bharat Ratna PV Narasimha Rao, joined the Rajya Sabha for the first time in October 1991. Singh was the finance minister in the Narasimha Rao government from 1991-96 and the Prime Minister of India from 2004-14.