Revanth Reddy Urges Bharat Ratna for Manmohan Singh, Unveils Statue in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has urged the Central government to confer the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, on former Prime Minister late Manmohan Singh and to establish a knowledge centre in his name in Delhi. He was speaking after unveiling a statue of Singh at Wipro Circle in Hyderabad's Financial District.

"Some decisions have to be taken above political considerations," Reddy said, urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take the initiative. He stated that Telangana MPs would raise the issue in Parliament. He expressed disappointment that the Union government had not taken steps to establish a lasting memorial to Singh in Delhi.

Reddy said Singh had taken the country's economy to new heights with "silent determination". He credited Singh and former Congress president Sonia Gandhi with fulfilling the decades-old demand for a separate Telangana State. A replica of Singh's signature on the legislation for the creation of Telangana was displayed at the venue.

Describing Singh as a "pride of the nation", Reddy said the statue was installed in the Financial District to commemorate his contribution to the Indian economy. He noted that several institutions that play a key role in the country's financial system operate from the area.

The Chief Minister recalled Singh's role as Reserve Bank of India Governor and Union Finance Minister in the P.V. Narasimha Rao government, saying he had helped the country recover from the economic crisis in 1991. The liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation policies initiated during that period had transformed the Indian economy, he said.

He also cited the Right to Education Act, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and the 2013 Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act as important measures introduced during Singh's regime. The rehabilitation law, he said, provided compensation rights even to landless poor affected by land acquisition.

Former Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana and former Supreme Court judge Justice B. Sudarshan Reddy shared their association with Singh as Prime Minister when they were judges. They recalled his simplicity and modest financial conditions despite being the Prime Minister.

Former economic adviser Mohan Guruswamy, Ministers D. Sridhar Babu and Adluri Lakshman Kumar, MPs Vem Narender Reddy and Anil Kumar Yadav, MLAs Arekapudi Gandhi and Naveen Yadav, MLC Kuchukulla Damodar Reddy and senior officials attended the programme.

Manmohan Singh, a renowned economist, served as Prime Minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He was earlier the Finance Minister under Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao and is credited with initiating the economic reforms of 1991 that opened up the Indian economy. He also served as the Reserve Bank of India Governor from 1982 to 1985. He passed away in December 2024 at the age of 92. The Bharat Ratna is India's highest civilian honour. The demand for a separate Telangana state was fulfilled in 2014, with Singh as Prime Minister.