After 33 years Manmohan Singh Ex-PM of India retires from RajyaSabha

Manmohan Singh, the former prime minister, will adjourn the RajyaSabha on Wednesday, bringing an unprecedented 33-year political career to an end. Having served ten years, or two full terms, in office, Singh was the first prime minister from a party other than the Nehru-Gandhi.

Image Source -thehindu.com

Aadhaar and Direct Benefit Transfer were two of the reforms Singh oversaw during his time as prime minister. He also oversaw the overhaul of the social welfare system through a series of rights-based laws. Singh also had a key role in the 2008 US-India nuclear deal negotiations.

Singh, who was ninety-one years old, was the third prime minister to come out of the RajyaSabha, after Inder Kumar Gujral and Indira Gandhi (during her first term).

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From a more personal standpoint, people really respected India's one-and-only Sikh prime minister for his grace and poise. After the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government was formed, defense minister Pranab Mukherjee had to persuade Singh to stop using the title "sir" because of Singh's role as RBI governor during Pranab Mukherjee's time as Union finance minister. This had been a long-standing custom in his life.

Speaking both Urdu and English fluently, Singh has remained one of the most significant parliamentarians of the past few decades. There isn’tany power on earth that can stop an awareness that has touched its zenith. In 1991, during his first budget speech, Singh said, I advise to this august House that the development of India as a major economic power in the world is one such idea.