As the nation mourns the death of former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, a moving anecdote shared by his former bodyguard, Asim Arun, has brought into focus the simplicity of the late leader.
Asim Arun, the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Social Welfare, Scheduled Castes, and Tribal Welfare in Uttar Pradesh and former bodyguard of Dr Singh, went to X to recall his time as the head of the Special Protection Group (SPG) Close Protection Team for Dr Singh between 2004 and 2007.
Asim Arun, an IPS officer, resigned from the service in January 2022 to enter politics. He won the 2022 UP Assembly election as a BJP candidate from the Kannauj seat.
In his post on X, Arun described how the Prime Minister, despite having a state-of-the-art BMW equipped with all advanced security features, had a special fondness for his modest Maruti 800. "Dr Sahab would repeatedly tell me, 'Aseem, I do not like to travel in this car (BMW), my car is this one (Maruti),'" Arun wrote, emphasizing the leader's deep connection to his middle-class roots.
He further narrated how Dr. Singh would often stare at the Maruti 800 parked in the Prime Minister's residence as if to reiterate his identity as a common man committed to serving the public.
"I would explain that Sir this car is not for your luxury, its security features are such that the SPG has taken it.". But whenever the convoy would pass in front of the Maruti, he would always look at it to his heart's content. As if repeating a resolution that I am a middle class person and it is my job to worry about the common man. He would say, the car worth crores belongs to the PM, my car is this Maruti," he added in his X post.
It was perhaps an innocuous tweet from Arun who found it appropriate to appreciate Manmohan Singh with words: "the man who transformed India in its formative years - from 2004 to 2014".
The doctor who gave the economy a fresh breath through 1991's much-needed reforms breathed his last at 92 on Thursday morning, and it happened while he was still in AIIMS for deteriorating health.
A colossus in Indian politics and economics, his tenure as Finance Minister and later as Prime Minister had modernized the Indian economy by opening up the Indian economy to the world market and sowed the seeds of growth.
As the nation mourns the loss, Arun's anecdote reminds everyone of Dr. Singh's simplicity, intellect, and the commitment towards the common man that will inspire generations.
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