Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s remarkable political journey took him to Assam, which unexpectedly became his second home. As a Congress Rajya Sabha member from Assam, he started as an ‘outsider’ but came to be the northeastern state’s very own prime minister.
In 1991, when then Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao chose him as his finance minister, Manmohan Singh became a Rajya Sabha member from Assam, which was ruled by a Congress government at the time. House no. 3989, Nandan Nagar, Sarumtria, Guwahati, remained his address until his fifth Rajya Sabha term ended in 2019. After that, he was nominated from Rajasthan until he retired earlier this year.
The 2 BHK apartment in the premises of the personal home of former Assam chief minister Hiteswar Saikia became Dr Singh’s rented accommodation. Later, Dr Singh and his wife also had their names as voters transferred from Delhi to Assam, to a polling station in Dispur.
Speaking to TDG, Hemoprabha Saikia, wife of Hiteswar Saikia and owner of the house said, “I think there is no such person as humble, as honest like Dr. Manmohan Singh and other way academically. We remember his these associations with us. His wife also came with him and he took lunch with us. And he told my granddaughters they were also here at that time that I am coming home, coming to my home.”
The 84-year-old went on to share interesting anecdotes on the former prime minister, who died at 92 on Thursday evening. For one, she revealed, he was particular about rent payments.
“He always used to pay the rent in time and by cheques. Once, when he was prime minister, he sent the rent by cheque but we forgot to encash it, so he wrote a letter and attached a fresh cheque, asking us to encash immediately. Even as a prime minister he was diligent as a tenant. There are a lot of things for politicians of this generation to learn from Dr Singh,” Ms Saikia further remarked.
The family members of Hiteswar Saikia have fond memories of the former PM Manmohan Singh. Speaking to TDG, the granddaughter od Hiteswar Saikia, Divyani recalled the humble nature of Dr Manmohan Singh. “Yes, the whole nation knows about his political contribution. But today I will share a few of my personal experiences with him. And yes, I do remember him coming often to our place. And as kids, you know, we always had this happiness because we could speak. Like we had a personal relationship with the entire family,” added Divyani.
