Ajay Kumar I Lucknow
A seven-day state mourning has been declared in Uttar Pradesh following the death of former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. This mourning will begin on December 26 and continue until January 1. Orders regarding this have already been issued. During this period, the national flag will remain half-mast, and the state government will not hold any entertaining events. Manmohan Singh’s connection with Uttar Pradesh during his tenure as Prime Minister is well-known. He visited UP multiple times during his term. In September 2013, as Prime Minister, he visited Muzaffarnagar, which had witnessed severe riots. In July 2008, he visited UP twice, and on September 3, 2005, he visited the state capital, Lucknow. Additionally, he visited various cities in the state, including Noida, Pilibhit, Greater Noida, and Ghaziabad, for different events.
Whenever the topic of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arises, a particular incident related to UP politics is also remembered. This relates to the year 2008, when the then-Samajwadi Party leader and former Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav suddenly changed his stance and saved Manmohan Singh’s government. At that time, the government led by Manmohan Singh under the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) was wavering over the India-US Nuclear Deal. The Samajwadi Party, the largest party in Uttar Pradesh, played a crucial role in saving Manmohan Singh’s government during his first term. In 2008, the UPA government, led by Manmohan Singh, had the essential support of left-wing parties. However, the left-wing parties were strongly opposed to this deal with the United States. Despite this, Manmohan Singh proceeded with the nuclear agreement and was unwilling to back down. The left-wing parties withdrew their support, and at that point, the attention of the government’s well-wishers turned to UP and its largest party, the Samajwadi Party. Mulayam Singh was initially with the left parties, but at that time, Samajwadi Party General Secretary Amar Singh had a significant influence on Mulayam.
It is said that this influence led Mulayam Singh to change his stance, and he played an important role in saving Manmohan Singh’s government by having his party’s MPs support it. Mulayam described his decision as one taken in the national interest. Now, neither Mulayam Singh is here, nor Amar Singh, nor Manmohan Singh. But politically, UP has always played a significant role in national politics. Recently, Akhilesh Yadav shared a picture of Manmohan Singh and Mulayam Singh Yadav while discussing the Ken-Betwa Link project.
