Former Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh, has retired from the Rajya Sabha after serving for 33 years. Dr Singh was the first Prime Minister outside the Nehru-Gandhi family to complete a full term in office. He had joined the Rajya Sabha in October 1991 from the state of Assam.
Subsequently, he was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1995, 2001, 2007, and 2013, representing Assam for five consecutive terms.
In 2019, he was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha from the state of Rajasthan, where he continued to serve until his retirement in April 2024.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge penned an emotional letter to the former Prime Minister, praising Manmohan Singh as a hero to the middle class and aspirational youth, a leader and guide to industrialists and entrepreneurs, and a benefactor to those who climbed out of poverty due to his economic policies
As Manmohan Singh retires, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi is set to make her debut in the Rajya Sabha, filling the seat left vacant by the former Prime Minister.
Dr Singh is considered the architect of India's economic liberalization and the force behind the 2008 Indo-US nuclear agreement.
He headed a government that transformed the social welfare framework with a bouquet of rights-based legislation.
Dr. Singh entered the Upper House in October 1991, representing Assam for five terms, and later shifted to Rajasthan in 2019. Known for his proficiency in Urdu and English, he is one of the best parliamentary speakers in recent times.
During his tenure, he called for direct transfer of benefits to individuals and ensured the emergence of India as a major economic power in the world.
Dr. Singh's last intervention in Parliament was against demonetization, where he called it an "organized loot and legalized plunder." He was a regular at the Parliament library, scanning magazines for articles on economics.
He is known for his landmark 1991 economic reforms of liberalisation, privatisation, and globalisation.
He served as India's 14th Prime Minister, from 2004 to 2014 and is widely recognized for his role in ushering in a comprehensive policy of economic reforms.
During his tenure as Finance Minister in the Narasimha Rao government from 1991-96, Manmohan Singh played a crucial role in bringing significant economic reforms to India. He was instrumental in launching the MGNREGA scheme, which continues to provide employment opportunities to millions of people in rural areas.
Dr. Singh took the Indian economy towards liberalization by ending license raj, opening all sectors barring five related to national security, devaluing the rupee by 20%, persuading the RBI to mortgage gold with the Bank of England, and encouraging entrepreneurship and foreign investment for industrialization.
His efforts helped India free the economy from the shackles of the Nehruvian inertia of a socialist economy.
Chief Minister M K Stalin of Tamil Nadu also extended his greetings to Manmohan Singh on his retirement
Manmohan Singh's calm and composed demeanor, along with his statesman-like words, stand in contrast to the loud and often misleading voices that dominate current politics.
Known for his diligence, academic approach to work, accessibility, and unassuming demeanor, Manmohan Singh’s retirement marks the end of an era in Indian politics, leaving behind a legacy of economic reforms and development.
