Manmohan Singh: The unsung maestro of Parliament
Hindustan TimesDr Manmohan Singh’s journey from a modest childhood in Gah to one of India’s most respected public figures is well-documented. Dr Singh’s first intervention in Parliament occurred on July 12, 1991, in the Lok Sabha, when he addressed supplementary questions posed by KP Unnikrishnan about the government’s decision to sell gold. Dr Singh also kept Parliament informed on critical foreign policy matters, including his foreign visits to states such as Italy, France, Egypt, and the United States, among others, the India-US Nuclear Agreement and India’s stance in the International Atomic Energy Agency vote on Iran’s nuclear programme. Dr. Singh’s parliamentary journey concluded in April 2024 when his term in the Rajya Sabha ended. In an era where parliamentary debates often descend into theatrics, Dr. Singh’s quiet resilience and data-driven interventions remind us of what Parliament should aspire to — being a forum for meaningful deliberation.