On the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, Congress leader and party general secretary Sachin Pilot offered a heartfelt tribute on Saturday, September 26, 2026, honouring the architect of India's modern economy for his vision, leadership, and lasting contribution to national progress.

Pilot wrote in Hindi: 'भूतपूर्व प्रधानमंत्री डॉ. मनमोहन सिंह जी की जयंती पर मैं उन्हें हृदय से श्रद्धापूर्वक नमन करता हूँ' — 'On the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, I bow to him with deep reverence from the heart.' He further noted that Dr. Singh's 'extraordinary leadership ability and farsightedness' drove several crucial decisions in the interest of the country and its people, strengthening the Indian economy and contributing meaningfully to the nation's progress.

The economist who rewrote India's growth story

Dr. Manmohan Singh served as Prime Minister of India from 2004 to 2014, but his most consequential chapter began earlier, as Finance Minister in 1991, when India stood at the edge of a foreign-exchange crisis. His landmark liberalisation reforms — dismantling the licence raj, opening the economy to private and foreign investment, and steering India toward globalisation — fundamentally transformed the country's economic trajectory. The GDP growth that followed, and the middle-class expansion it powered, trace a direct line back to those decisions.

His two terms as Prime Minister carried that reformist imprint: flagship welfare programmes, rural employment guarantees, and a push to extend economic gains beyond urban centres defined his administration. For the Indian National Congress, Dr. Singh remains a figure of institutional pride — the technocrat-statesman who translated policy into prosperity.

Congress marks the anniversary across the board

Pilot's tribute is part of a broader pattern within the party, where Congress leaders routinely use the birth anniversaries of former prime ministers to reaffirm the ideological lineage they represent. As Chhattisgarh in-charge and a senior voice in the organisation, Pilot's post carries both personal respect and political signalling — reminding voters of an era of economic stewardship the party associates with its identity.

The tribute underscores how Dr. Singh's legacy continues to serve as a reference point in contemporary political discourse, invoked not just as remembrance but as a standard of governance the Congress holds up in the current political climate.