Hardeep Puri takes ‘Narsimha Rao’ jibe at Congress for creating controversy over Manmohan Singh's death

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Sunday slammed Congress for "creating" a controversy over the demise of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He also reminided thatthe mortal remains of former Prime Minister Narsimha Rao were not even brought to the AICC headquarters.

Speaking to ANI, Puri said, "There is no controversy but it is being created. Congress party is isolated in the INDI alliance and even in the country. Congress which didn't allow PV Narasimha Rao's mortal remains to come to party headquarters and his final cremation was done in Hyderabad."

"Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge wrote a letter that we (Congress) would like something - the home ministry released a communication and said that we agreed to their request," he added.

Assuring that a memorial will be built to honour the memory of former PM Manmohan Singh, he said, “The Sikh community came and prayed for him (Manmohan Singh). We have always admired his work and drawn inspiration from him. Even today, when his ashes were immersed, our people were there and not the people from Congress. In the days to come, a memorial will be built for sure. I don't think that we should give a free run to those who are creating controversy.”

All you need to know about the controversy Manmohan Singh's cremation

A war of words erupted between BJP and Congress leaders regarding the cremation of Manmohan Singh at Delhi's Nigambodh Ghat. On Saturday, Congress MP Manickam Tagore criticized the central government, accusing it of conducting Manmohan Singh's final rites at a crowded and ordinary location.

"It's a very sad thing that the govt has stooped to this level. When the former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee passed away, this govt provided a place for cremation, that same place was made a memorial for the PM... All the prime ministers have received similar honour. It is deeply painful to see that the final journey of Manmohan Singh was taken to a very common and even congested place. There was no place for the foreign dignitaries and Dr Singh's family...," the Congress MP told ANI.

Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also lashed out at BJP-led central government, alleging that "adequate place" wasn't provided for the cremation of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The UPA government had rejected requests for separate memorials in the national capital citing lack of space