Keshav Prasad Maurya mourns former PM Manmohan Singh's demise

"The demise of former Prime Minister, great economist Dr Manmohan Singh is very sad. It is an irreparable loss not only for his family and his supporters but for the whole of India. With his demise, the country has lost a politician, an economist, and a former Prime Minister from whom the country had great hope and faith. He took many important steps to strengthen the country, which are still contributing to the progress of this country," Maurya told ANI.

Meanwhile, Union Minister G Kishan Reddy also expressed grief over Manmohan Singh's demise and said that it was because of the decision taken by him as the Finance Minister that India was in a stable economic situation.

"Manmohan Singh as an economist, RBI Governor, Finance Minister and Prime Minister, has done a lot of work for the country. The economic reforms he brought to the country, he took those decisions with huge commitment and confidence. It is because of his decisions that the country is in a stable economic situation as compared to what is happening in other countries," Reddy, who is the Minister of Mines in the central government, told ANI.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Kiran Choudhary also paid tributes to the former PM, recalling her meeting with him. She said that she was Manmohan Singh's election agent at the time when he was contesting polls from south Delhi.

"Manmohan Singh was very honest and very hardworking. I had the good fortune of working with him. When he was contesting elections from South Delhi, I was his election agent at that time. He was simple and intellectual. He was in the World Bank and the works undertaken by him during that time are historic in their own capacity. Manmohan Singh was the one who put India on the path of progress. He was the one who had started it. May God give strength to the family to bear this loss. The passing away of a person like Manmohan Singh is a great loss for politics," Choudhary told ANI.

The national flag was draped over the bier carrying the mortal remains of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. According to sources, the last rites of the former PM will be carried out with full state honours.

Singh, renowned for introducing the 1991 economic liberalisation reforms as the Finance Minister of India, will be cremated near Rajghat, at the location where the last rites of Prime Ministers are performed.

Several politicians and personalities from all walks of life have been expressing their sorrow over the demise of former PM Manmohan Singh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday night said that condoled the demise of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying that India mourns the loss of one of its most distinguished leaders.

Manmohan Singh passed away at AIIMS, Delhi, on Thursday evening at the age of 92 due to age-related medical conditions. He had a sudden loss of consciousness at home after which he was rushed to the AIIMS Delhi.

Manmohan Singh was born on September 26, 1932. Apart from being an economist, Manmohan Singh served as Reserve Bank of India governor from 1982-1985. He was the 13th PM of India with his tenure from 2004-2014 and was the longest-serving PM after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.

Serving as the finance minister of India in PV Narasimha Rao's government, Singh has been given credit for economic liberalisation in the country in 1991. The reforms made the Indian economy more accessible to foreign investors, which increased FDI and reduced government control. It greatly contributed to the country's economic growth.

Manmohan Singh's government also introduced the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), which later came to be known as MGNREGA.

The Right to Information Act (RTI) was passed in 2005 under the Manmohan Singh government, which made the transparency of information between the government and the public better.

He retired from the Rajya Sabha earlier this year after serving for 33 years. (ANI)