Former prime minister Manmohan Singh’s mortal remains were cremated with full state honours at the Nigam Bodh Ghat in New Delhi on Saturday in the presence of top leaders and foreign dignitaries including President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Sonia Gandhi. Manmohan Singh’s eldest daughter Upinder Singh lit the funeral pyre amid the chanting of religious hymns. Sikh priests and Singh’s family members recited verses from Gurbani before his last rites. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, and Leaders of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi were among the top leaders who paid their last tributes to the former prime minister at the crematorium.Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, and the three services chiefs also paid their last respects to Singh.Draped in the Tricolour, the flower-bedecked casket was placed at a raised platform, where leaders cutting across party lines laid wreaths on Singh’s mortal remains.King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Mauritius Foreign Minister Dhananjay Ramful, were among the foreign dignitaries to pay tributes to Singh.Mauritius has on Saturday announced that its national flag will fly at half-mast at all government offices and institutions till sunset as a mark of respect to Singh.India’s relations with several key countries, including Bhutan and Mauritius, saw a significant upswing during Singh’s prime ministership.A special prayer ceremony for Manmohan Singh, led by the King of Bhutan was held at a Buddhist monastery in Thimphu on Friday. The prayer was attended by Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, Indian ambassador Sudhakar Dalela, several members of the Royal family and senior officials of the Bhutanese government.
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