Renowned economist and 13th Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh is no more. He breathed his last on 26 December (Thursday) night at AIIMS Hospital in New Delhi. He was 92 at the time of his death.
Born on 26 September 1932 in Gah (currently in Pakistan) in Punjab province, Dr. Manmohan Singh had an important connection with Assam. Dr. Singh, who started his career by teaching at Punjab University, worked in many important positions in the government of India and represented India on international forums. Known as an efficient economist, Dr. Manmohan Singh had a deep connection with Assam in political life. He was the representative of Assam in the Indian Parliament. But how and why did this happen?
Dr. Manmohan Singh became the Finance Minister of the country
Year 1991. The Congress Party had won the general elections of the country. P.V. Narasimha Rao was selected for the post of Prime Minister.
The new government was to be sworn in on 21 June. At the same time, P.V. Narasimha Rao called Dr. Manmohan Singh to Rashtrapati Bhavan to take oath as a minister. At that time Manmohan Singh was the chairman of University Grants Commission (UGC).
Dr. Singh told British journalist Mark Tully in 2005 how he became a minister at the time:
“On the day (Rao) was formulating his cabinet, he sent his Principal Secretary to me saying, “The PM would like you to become the Minister of Finance”. I didn’t take it seriously. He eventually tracked me down the next morning, rather angry, and demanded that I get dressed up and come to Rashtrapati Bhavan for the swearing in. So that’s how I started in politics.”
As per the instructions of P.V. Narasimha Rao, he took oath as a Union Minister and was given the responsibility of Finance Minister.
Dr. Manmohan Singh became a minister, but till that time he was not a member of Parliament. According to the rule, a person can become a minister even if he is not an MP, but that minister has to become a member of one of the houses of Parliament within six months.
How did he become a representative from Assam in Parliament?
At that time, a Rajya Sabha seat from Assam was vacant. A by-election was to be held for that vacant seat. At that time there was a Congress government in Assam under the leadership of Hiteshwar Saikia. Chief Minister Saikia received instructions from Delhi that Dr. Manmohan Singh has to be made victorious in that Rajya Sabha by-election.
As per the instructions, Dr. Singh reached Guwahati to file nomination for the by-election and became a member of Rajya Sabha as a representative of Assam on 1 October 1991.
After becoming the representative of Assam, he started living in a part of Chief Minister Hiteshwar Saikia’s house in Dispur. In this way Dr. Manmohan Singh became a resident of Assam. His name was included in the voter list of Assam and he came to Assam to vote in Lok Sabha and Assembly elections many times.
After 1991, Dr. Singh was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha from Assam in 1995, 2001, 2007 and 2013 and represented Assam for a long 28 years till 2019.
Dr. Singh was the leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha
The Congress party lost in the 1996 Lok Sabha elections. After this, between 1998-2004, when there was a BJP government at the Center under the leadership of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Dr. Manmohan Singh was the leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha. At that time also he was representing Assam.
Responsibility of the Prime Minister of the country
In 2004, the UPA was re-elected under the leadership of Congress. There was a discussion on who would be the Prime Minister. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi at that time announced the name of Dr. Manmohan Singh, Rajya Sabha MP from Assam.
On 22 May 2004, Dr. Singh took oath as the Prime Minister of the country. In 2009, the UPA government was formed at the Centre for the second time under his leadership. He remained the Prime Minister of the country till 2014.
Rajya Sabha term from Assam ends
Dr. Singh’s term as a Rajya Sabha member from Assam ended on 14 June 2019. At that time, the Congress did not have enough members in the Assam Legislative Assembly, making it impossible to send him to the Rajya Sabha from Assam again. Instead, on 19 August 2019, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan and remained a Member of Parliament till 3 April 2024.
Also contested Lok Sabha elections
While representing the Rajya Sabha from Assam, Dr. Singh contested from the South Delhi constituency in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections, but he could not win. After this he remained the representative of Assam.
Fame as an economist and professor
Apart from serving two full terms as Prime Minister, Finance Minister of the country and Leader of the Opposition, Dr. Singh was also known as an economist and professor.
From 1957-1965 he was a professor in the Department of Economics at Punjab University.
From 1966-1969 he was nominated by the Government of India to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
After returning from UNCTAD, the then Commerce Minister Lalit Narayan Mishra appointed him as an advisor.
From 1969-1971 he was a professor at the Delhi School of Economics.
In 1972 he was appointed Economic Advisor to the Ministry of Finance by the Government of India.
In 1976 he became Secretary of the Ministry of Finance.
From 1980-1982 he was a member of the Planning Commission.
In 1982 he was appointed Governor of the Reserve Bank of India.
From 1985-1987 he was Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission.
In 1987 he became the Secretary General of the South Commission in Geneva.
In 1990 he became the economic advisor to Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar.
In 1991 he became the Chairman of the University Grants Commission. But on 21 June of the same year, P.V. Narasimha Rao included him in the Union Cabinet and appointed him the Finance Minister of the country.