Congress reveals why it didn't attend Manmohan Singh's ashes immersion
Hindustan TimesThe Congress on Monday reacted to the BJP's criticism that leaders of the grand old party didn't accompany Manmohan Singh's family during the immersion of his ashes in the Yamuna River, saying it wanted to accord privacy to the bereaved family. Congress leader Pawan Khera said senior leaders Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had visited Singh's family after the funeral. "After discussing with them, it was felt that since the family did not get any privacy at the time of the cremation and some extended family members could not reach the pyre site, it would be appropriate to give them some privacy for the 'Phool Chunana' and the immersion of the ashes which is an emotionally painful and difficult ceremony for close family members," Khera said in a statement. Manmohan Singh passed away The ashes were collected from the Nigambodh Ghat on Sunday morning by the family members and later taken to the 'Asth Ghat' on the Yamuna river bank near the gurdwara.