Fact Check: Congress wanted to cremate Narasimha Rao’s body in Delhi but the family did not agree? This claim is wrong

New Delhi: Amidst the news of the last rites of the dead body of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the discussion about the last rites of the dead body of former Prime Minister Narasimha Rao gained momentum. Various types of arguments started being given on social media. Narasimha Rao was a Congress leader and was the Prime Minister from 1991 to 1996. Narasimha Rao died on 23 December 2004 at AIIMS, Delhi and the funeral was held in Hyderabad.

What is the claim?

X user Manish Singh claims that it was the decision of Narasimha Rao’s family to take the body to Hyderabad, but Congress was adamant on performing his/her last rites in Delhi. It is claimed that Congress leaders persuaded Rao’s family, but they did not agree and were adamant on taking the body to Hyderabad as soon as possible. Then suddenly he/she said that the body will be kept at the Congress headquarters for some time. But before arrangements could be made, Rao’s family reached the Congress headquarters with the dead body. Naturally there was a delay in opening the lock. Angered by this, he/she immediately took the car to the airport. There is also a claim that it rained during the last rites in Hyderabad and dogs were found scratching the half-burnt corpse.

What is the truth?

After the death of Narasimha Rao, the misbehavior with his/her body by the Congress Party and especially Sonia Gandhi has appeared not only in the media but also in books. Many articles were written and it was also mentioned in some books. The statements of Rao’s family members are also on record. In Vinay Sitapati’s famous book ‘Half Lion’, the entire incident regarding the last rites of Narismha Rao has been described in detail. firstpost Has published that part of this book. Keep in mind that Vinay Sitapati is a Princeton scholar who had exclusive access to Rao’s personal documents and papers.

Congressmen told Rao’s family – do not perform the last rites in Delhi

It reads, ‘Home Minister, Shivraj Patil, suggested to Rao’s youngest son Prabhakar that the body should be cremated in Hyderabad. But the family gave priority to Delhi. After all, Rao was last chief minister of Andhra Pradesh more than thirty years ago, and since then he/she has served as Congress general secretary, Union minister and finally Prime Minister – all in Delhi. Hearing this, the usually polite Shivraj Patil said – No one will come.

This is the real story of Congress headquarters gate not opening

Ghulam Nabi Azad, another aide of party president Sonia Gandhi, arrived. he/she also requested the family to take the body to Hyderabad. When Rao’s body reached the Congress headquarters at 24 Akbar Road, the entrance was tightly closed. Although the gate was opened for the mortal remains of late Congress leader Madhavrao Scindia a few years ago, no such courtesy was shown to Rao. A friend of Rao asked a senior Congress woman to allow the body inside. he/she replied, ‘The gate does not open.’ it was a lie. When Madhavrao Scindia died a few years ago, the gate was opened for him/her.

Waited for half an hour, but the gate did not open.

Manmohan Singh was asked why Rao’s body was not allowed to the Congress headquarters, to which he/she replied that he/she was present, but he/she had no information about it. Another Congress leader spoke openly on this. he/she said, ‘We expected that the gate would be opened… but no order came. Only one person could give that order.’ he/she further said, ‘he/she did not give the order.’ The one who gave orders was none other than Sonia Gandhi. The army vehicle waited outside the headquarters for about 30 minutes and then proceeded towards the airport.

Sonia Gandhi did not attend Rao’s funeral

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was the Finance Minister in Rao’s cabinet and who initiated revolutionary reforms that transformed India, was reportedly unhappy with the way Rao was treated after his/her death. he/she was present at the funeral on the banks of Hussain Sagar Lake in Hyderabad. his/her cabinet colleague and BJP leader Advani was also present. But Sonia Gandhi thought it better to stay away.

Story of dogs tearing half burnt dead body

When the dignitaries left a few hours later, the body was still burning. That night (local) television channels showed footage of a half-burned body, with the skull still visible, lying unclaimed. Stray dogs were dragging the funeral pyre. News agency IANS reported on December 26, 2004, that television images of former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao’s half-burnt body spurred his/her family and government officials into action, who rushed to the cremation site and lit the pyre around midnight. Lit again. Shocking pictures of Rao’s half-burnt bones, skull and other body parts were telecast on Telugu television channels around 11 pm on Saturday night.

Why was the dead body half burnt?

TV reports quoting eyewitnesses highlighted how authorities showed disrespect to a former prime minister by not arranging enough firewood for his/her cremation. The then state government of Congress Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy was completely unhappy with the TV channels as they telecast such pictures, which is a gross insult to a great personality.

Narasimha Rao’s son says that at 11 o’clock his/her sister told him/her that very bad visuals were coming on TV. he/she saw on TV that dogs were tearing at the half-burnt dead body.

What did Congress leader Margaret Alva write in her book?

Congress leader Margaret Alva, in her autobiography Courage and Commitment, gave a different argument for not keeping Rao’s body at the Congress headquarters. he/she has written in this book published in 2016 that Rao’s body was so heavy that it was difficult to lift it from the gun carriage and keep it inside the Congress headquarters. Well, Narasimha Rao’s body was sent to his/her home town Hyderabad from outside the Congress headquarters.

Sonia was upset with the demolition of Babri structure

It is also said that the disputed structure of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya was demolished on 6 December 1992 and the role of the Narasimha Rao government at the Center was not satisfactory. Therefore, her advisors told Sonia that if Rao’s body was given respect then Muslim voters might get angry with the Congress party. Anyway, Sonia made Narasimha Rao the Prime Minister thinking that he/she would work under her. This happened for a few months, but later Rao stopped reporting to Sonia, let alone visiting her regularly. Later, when Manmohan Singh was made the Prime Minister, he/she continued to obey Sonia’s every word for 10 years.

Dainik Bhaskar The report of a year ago clearly shows what kind of venom Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar spewed towards Narasimha Rao. Aiyar even termed Rao as communal and the first Prime Minister of BJP. Manish Singh himself made it clear in his/her X post how much Congressmen hate Narasimha Rao. he/she came to defend Congress but the Congressmen’s hatred towards Narasimha could not be suppressed by him/her. he/she writes, ‘It rained during the funeral in Andhra. The next morning, dogs were found dragging the half-dead body. This is divine justice. This condition was written on the skull of the Union Home Minister, i.e. in-charge of Delhi Police during the Delhi riots and the Prime Minister who was secretly involved in the demolition of the religious place in 1991. The family members were just helping him/her reach his/her destiny.

conclusion

The claim of ex-user Manish Singh about the government is wrong and baseless. These claims are completely contrary to the truth. Contrary to the claim, Congress leaders put pressure on Rao’s family to take the body to Hyderabad while the family expressed their wish that the last rites be performed in Delhi. Shivraj Patil clearly told Rao’s family that if the last rites were performed in Delhi, no Congressman would come. Similarly, the body remained half-burned without sufficient wood, not because of rain. In our investigation all the claims were found to be contrary and completely false. Incidents related to Narasimha Rao’s funeral Here, Here, Here You can also know from.