"Great loss for the Country...": Hemoprova Saikia, former Assam CM Hiteshwar Saikia's wife remembers Manmohan Singh

Guwahati (Assam) [India], December 27 (ANI): Hemoprova Saikia, the wife of former Assam Chief Minister Hiteshwar Saikia, expressed deep sorrow on Friday over the demise of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, calling it a great loss for the country.
The former Assam CM was a close friend of Manmohan Singh, and Hemoprova Saikia fondly recalled the memories and times which were spent with Dr Manmohan Singh.
"His demise is a great loss for the country...He was a close friend of my husband...After the death of my husband, he continued to be a close member of our family...He was a great personality," she said.
Here are the visuals from House No. 3989, in Nandan Nagar of Guwahati where the former PM lived after he was elected to Rajya Sabha in 1991.

His residential address was a rented ground-floor apartment in the house of Hiteswar Saikia in the Sarumotoria area in Guwahati.
The former prime minister served as a Rajya Sabha member from Assam for five consecutive terms, from 1991 to 2019.
The Assam government has also declared a seven-day state mourning in honour of former prime minister Manmohan Singh, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday.
The state mourning, beginning from December 26 will last till January 1, 2025.
As a mark of respect to Dr Manmohan Singh Ji, Former Prime Minister of India, the Government of Assam will observe a period of 7-day state mourning from 26.12.2024 to 01.01.2025. During this period the national flag will fly at half mast at all state government establishments and all official entertainment programs stand cancelled," Assam CM posted on X (formerly Twitter).
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.
He spent five years between 1991 and 1996 as India's Finance Minister and his role in ushering in a comprehensive policy of economic reforms is recognized worldwide. In the popular view of those years in India, that period is inextricably associated with the persona of Dr. Singh.
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)