India feels the absence of a prime minister with the depth of Dr Manmohan Singh, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tweeted on Saturday, 26 September, as he wished the former PM on his 88th birthday.
"His honesty, decency and dedication are a source of inspiration for us all," said Gandhi, who has been critical of current PM Narendra Modi on a host of issues, including the handling of the economy, the coronavirus pandemic, and the tensions with China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Modi too tweeted to wish Singh, who was the prime minister under the two successive UPA governments from 2004 to 2014. "I pray to Almighty that he is blessed with a long and healthy life," Modi said.
Meanwhile, the Congress, on its official Twitter handle, lauded Manmohan Singh as "one of the most competent world leaders" with an "uncompromising" vision for the nation.
Born in 1932, Manmohan Singh served as finance minister in the Narasimha Rao government of the 1990s, and was one of the key leaders behind India's liberalisation reforms, before becoming the PM in 2004.
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