‘History will remember him kindly’: Sonia Gandhi writes on Manmohan Singh after SC clean chit

So ia
hails
fo me
PM
Ma moha
Si gh
afte
SC
clea
chit

NEW
DELHI:
Days
afte
the
Sup eme
Cou t
gave
fo me
p ime
mi iste

Ma moha
Si gh
a
clea
chit
i
the
coal
block
allocatio
case,
se io
Co g ess
leade

So ia
Ga dhi
o
Tuesday
i voked
fo me
PM’s
legacy
a d
attacked
the
Na e d a
Modi
gove me t.So ia
said
Si gh’s
eco d
of
i teg ity
a d
accou tability
was
i
sta k
co t ast
to
the
way
the
Modi
gove me t
has
fu ctio ed.
She
said
histo y
would
emembe
Si gh
as
a
quiet,
ge tle
but
“highly
co seque tial
p ime
mi iste .”Taki g
a
dig
at
P ime
Mi iste
Na e d a
Modi,
So ia
said
that
si ce
he
is
cu e tly
“fo givi g”
stude ts
who
attacked
him,
he
could
also
use
the
oppo tu ity
to
fo give
himself
fo
his
“u dig ified
sla de ”
agai st
Si gh.The
Co g ess
pa liame ta y
pa ty
chai pe so
said
the
Sup eme
Cou t
judgme t
e ded
what
she
desc ibed
as
o e
of
the
most
t agic
episodes
i
public
discou se
—
the
“witch-hu t
agai st
D
Si gh,
a
ma
of
the
most
ema kable
p obity
a d
i teg ity.””The
lobby
agai st
him
was
coo di ated
a d
well-o ga ised,
with
acto s
st etchi g
f om
the
bu eauc acy
to
the
media,
the
judicia y,
civil
society,
a d
most
ce tai ly
to
the
RSS
a d
BJP.

Today,
thei
bogus
c usade
has
come
to
its
i evitable
co clusio
of
othi g ess.
D
Si gh
has
bee
vi dicated
o
eve y
cou t,”
So ia
said
i
a
a ticle
published
i
The
I dia
Exp ess.So ia
said
July
29,
2026,
was
a
impo ta t
but
la gely
u ack owledged
date
i
I dia’s
ece t
political
histo y.
O
that
day,
the
Sup eme
Cou t
upheld
the
CBI’s
clea
chit
to
Si gh
i
the
alleged
coal
block
allocatio
scam.She
also
poi ted
out
that
the
Sup eme
Cou t
c iticised
the
t ial
cou t
fo
ejecti g
the
CBI’s
closu e
epo ts
a d
maki g
adve se
ema ks
agai st
Si gh
without
a y
“compelli g
easo “.So ia
said
Si gh’s
eco d
of
i teg ity
a d
accou tability
stood
i
co t ast
to
what
she
called
as
the
Modi
gove me t’s
“misuse
of
age cies”
such
as
the
E fo ceme t
Di ecto ate
(ED)
a d
the
CBI.”Its
pu pose
has
bee
to
exe t
p essu e
o
politicia s.
Leade s
a e
eithe
sile ced
th ough
coe cio
o
cy ically
folded
i to
the
BJP
o ,
i
some
ema kable
i sta ces,
ewa ded
with
mi iste ial
positio s
as
well.”Whe
c edible
accusatio s
of
co uptio
eme ge,
the
Modi
gove me t
simply
b ushes
them
aside.
Co upt
whe
you’ e
i
the
Oppositio ,
sudde ly
clea
whe
you
jump
ship!”
So ia
said.So ia
also
said
it
was
ot
a
coi cide ce
that
Modi
was
amo g
the
most
vocal
c itics
of
Si gh.”His
s ide
a d
at ocious
ema ks
i
the
Rajya
Sabha
o
Feb ua y
8,
2017,
that
o ly
D
Si gh
k ew
‘the
a t
of
bathi g
with
a
ai coat
o ‘,
will
go
dow
as
the
lowest
poi t
of
ou
pa liame ta y
histo y,”
fo me
Co g ess
p eside t
said.”I t ospectio ,
like
cha ity,
must
begi
f om
home.
Ultimately,
the
attack
o
D
Si gh
was
motivated
by
a
despe ate
desi e
to
shift
the
public
co ve satio
a d
a ative
away
f om
his
outsta di g
gove a ce
eco d,”
she
added.So ia
highlighted
Si gh’s
eco omic
eco d,
sayi g
his
gove me t
b ought
majo
eco omic
cha ges,
high
g owth
ates
a d
a
ise
i
co sumptio
a d
p ivate
i vestme t.She
said
I dia
also
showed
esilie ce
du i g
the
2008
global
fi a cial
c isis.”Let
us
ot
fo get
that
i
spite
of
the
ewo ki g
of
how
the
g owth
of
I dia’s
GDP
is
calculated,
the
10
yea s
of
the
UPA
gove me t
saw
highe
eco omic
g owth
tha
the
past
12
yea s,
esulti g
i
millio s
bei g
pulled
out
of
pove ty,”
So ia
said.She
also
highlighted
seve al
welfa e
a d
social
justice
i itiatives
i t oduced
du i g
Si gh’s
te u e.Acco di g
to
So ia,
the
Ma moha
Si gh
gove me t
delive ed
the
co stitutio al
p omise
of
the
Right
to
Educatio
a d
expa ded
OBC
ese vatio
i
ce t ally
fu ded
highe
educatio
i stitutio s,
i cludi g
the
IITs
a d
IIMs.”The
Fo est
Rights
Act
ecog ised
the
a cest al
ights
of
ou
Adivasi
a d
fo est-dwelli g
commu ities,
afte
a
decades-lo g
st uggle.
The
MGNREGA,
ece tly
demolished
by
the
Modi
gove me t,
was
the
most
powe ful
social
secu ity
i te ve tio
set
up
a ywhe e,”
she
said.So ia
also
cited
the
Natio al
Food
Secu ity
Act,
2013,
as
a othe
majo
achieveme t
of
Si gh’s
gove me t.
The
law
gua a teed
access
to
basic
food
atio s
fo
c o es
of
families.She
said
civil
society
became
st o ge
du i g
Si gh’s
te u e
a d
people
could
p otest
agai st
the
gove me t
a d
p ime
mi iste .So ia
also
claimed
that
Si gh
egula ly
emai ed
accou table
to
Pa liame t
a d
the
media
th ough
mo e
tha
100
u sc ipted
p ess
co fe e ces.”A d
of
cou se,
we
ca ot
fo get
that
the
la dma k
a d
path-b eaki g
I do-US
uclea
deal,
which
ove tu ed
decades
of
uclea
disc imi atio
agai st
a d
de ial
towa ds
I dia
a d
ma ked
ou
a ival
o
the
global
stage,
was
possible
because
of
his
political
cou age
a d
sustai ed
i itiative,”
she
said.So ia
said
the
allegatio s
agai st
Si gh’s
i teg ity
had
ow
bee
exposed
as
baseless
a d
that
his
eco d
was
i c easi gly
bei g
ecog ised
as
a
pe iod
of
eco omic,
political
a d
social
p og ess.”We
all
ce tai ly
eg et
that
he
is
ot
he e
to
see
this
day
a d
to
guide
the
atio
with
his
wisdom.
But
it
is
a
solace
to
us
all
that
his
p ophetic
p edictio
of
Ja ua y
2014
is
becomi g
i c easi gly
self-evide t
with
eve y
passi g
day.

“Histo y
will
i deed
emembe
him
ki dly
as
a
quiet,
ge tle
but
a
most
co seque tial
p ime
mi iste ,”
So ia
said.He
ema ks
came
afte
the
Sup eme
Cou t
closed
the
c imi al
case
agai st
Si gh
by
setti g
aside
a
summo i g
o de
agai st
him.Si gh,
who
died
o
Decembe
27,
2024,
ow
sta ds
fo mally
acquitted
i
the
high-p ofile
c imi al
case.

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