By Rahil Nora Chopra
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh concluded his 33-year-long parliamentary innings in the Rajya Sabha, just as former Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi enters the Upper House of Parliament for the first time. Meanwhile, the Congress used Manmohan Singh's retirement from the Rajya Sabha as an opportunity to draw the nation's attention to the dignity of the Prime Minister's Office, true politics and economic prudence that can remove poverty and boost growth. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge wrote in a letter to Manmohan Singh: “The nation misses the quiet yet strong dignity that you brought to the office of the Prime Minister. Parliament will now miss your wisdom and experience. Your dignified, measured, soft-spoken yet statesman-like words are in contrast to the loud voices filled with lies that signify the current politics.” The Congress chief added: “The economic prosperity and stability that we enjoy today is built on the foundations laid by you along with our former Prime Minister, Bharat Ratna Shri P V Narasimha Rao”. He said: “Thanks to your policies, India was able to lift 27 crore people, the highest number of poor people, out of poverty in the world while you were the Prime Minister. The MGNREGA scheme launched under your government continues to provide relief to the rural workers during times of crisis. Whatever little reforms done by the current government has its seeds in the work initiated in the UPA government headed by you. The work initiated by your government to ensure direct transfer of benefits to individual beneficiaries by creating zero balance accounts, unique identification of the beneficiary through Aadhaar was hijacked by the succeeding government without giving you credit.”
