Birthday Special: He became Prime Minister twice without contesting elections, even his opponents are impressed by his simple nature, no one becomes 'Manmohan' just like that

PM Modi congratulated

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Dr. Manmohan Singh on his birthday. PM Modi posted on Instagram and said, 'Heartiest birthday wishes to former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, I wish him good health and long life.'

Apart from this, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi also wished him on his birthday. Rahul tweeted, 'Happy Birthday to Dr. Manmohan Singh. Your humility, wisdom and selfless service in shaping the future of our country will continue to inspire me and millions of Indians. I wish you good health.'

Manmohan Singh is known for his calm nature

Dr. Manmohan Singh is known for his calm and simple nature. This is the reason why even his political opponents in his party respect him. Even though Manmohan Singh is calm and speaks less, people still remember the incident when there was a poetry recitation between him and senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj in the Parliament. Both the leaders replied to each other through poetry. During the discussion in the Parliament, former PM Manmohan Singh targeted the Bharatiya Janata Party and read the famous sher of Mirza Ghalib, 'Humko unse wafa ki hai ummeed, jo nahin jaante wafa kya hai'. However, in response to this, Sushma Swaraj also replied to him through poetry.

He was the governor of RBI before entering politics

In the government of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, he also held the post of head of the Indian Planning Commission from 1985 to 1987. He also worked with the United Nations. Apart from this, he was also the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from 1982 to 1985. During this time, he made many reforms in the banking sector. For which he is remembered even today.

From 1987 to 1990, Dr. Manmohan Singh served as Secretary General of the South Commission at the United Nations. In 1991, Manmohan Singh was elected a member of the Rajya Sabha from Assam. He was again a member of the Upper House in 1995, 2001, 2007 and 2013. From 1998 to 2004, when the NDA government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee was in power at the Centre, Manmohan Singh was the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha.

Record of becoming PM from Rajya Sabha

In 1999, he contested the election from South Delhi, but could not win. Interestingly, the 2009 Lok Sabha election was fought by the Congress under the leadership of Manmohan Singh. But, he himself did not contest the election. He also holds the record of becoming the Prime Minister while being a member of the Rajya Sabha.

Played a key role in economic reforms

Dr. Manmohan Singh played an important role in economic reforms in the country. In the year 1991, he was also the Finance Minister in the government of PV Narasimha Rao. During the budget, he made many announcements related to liberalization, privatization and globalization, which gave new impetus to the country's economy. Manmohan Singh was awarded India's second highest civilian honor Padma Vibhushan in the year 1987. Apart from this, he has been honored with many awards like Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Award of Indian Science Congress in the year 1995, Asia Money Award for the Best Finance Minister of the Year in the year 1993, Adam Smith Award of Cambridge University in the year 1956. Along with this, he was also given honorary degrees by many universities including Cambridge and Oxford University.

Manmohan Singh was born on 26 September 1932 in the Punjab province of undivided India. He completed his education from Punjab University and Cambridge University in Britain. After this, he also did D.Phil in Economics from Oxford University in 1962.

(With agency inputs)