Editing V. P. Singh (section)

{{Short description|Prime Minister of India from 1989 to 1990<!-- Do NOT add counts or ordinals, as per [[WP:CONSENSUS]] -->}}
{{Distinguish|text= politician [[V. P. Singh Badnore]], Minister and former General [[V. K. Singh]], or hydrologist [[Vijay P. Singh]]}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = V. P. Singh
| image               = File:Visit of Vishwanath Pratap Singh, Indian Minister for Trade, to the CEC (cropped).jpg
| image_size          = 
| alt                 = V. P. Singh
| caption             = Singh, {{circa|1983}}
| office              = <!-- Do NOT add counts or ordinals, as per [[WP:CONSENSUS]] -->[[Prime Minister of India]]
| president           = [[Ramaswamy Venkataraman]]
| vicepresident       = [[Shankar Dayal Sharma]]
| term_start          = 2 December 1989
| term_end            = 10 November 1990
| deputy              = [[Devi Lal]] (until 1 August 1990)
| predecessor         = [[Rajiv Gandhi]]
| successor           = [[Chandra Shekhar]]
| office2             = <!-- Do NOT add counts or ordinals, as per [[WP:CONSENSUS]] -->[[Minister of Defence (India)|Union Minister of Defence]]
| term_start2         = 2 December 1989
| term_end2           = 10 November 1990
| predecessor2        = [[K. C. Pant]]
| successor2          = Chandra Shekhar
| primeminister3      = Rajiv Gandhi
| term_start3         = 24 January 1987
| term_end3           = 12 April 1987
| predecessor3        = Rajiv Gandhi
| successor3          = K. C. Pant
| office4             = <!-- Do NOT add counts or ordinals, as per [[WP:CONSENSUS]] -->[[Minister of Finance (India)|Union Minister of Finance]]
| primeminister4      = Rajiv Gandhi
| term_start4         = 31 December 1984
| term_end4           = 23 January 1987
| predecessor4        = [[Pranab Mukherjee]]
| successor4          = Rajiv Gandhi
| office6             = <!-- Do NOT add counts or ordinals, as per [[WP:CONSENSUS]] -->[[List of Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh|Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh]]
| governor6           = [[Chandeshwar Prasad Narayan Singh]]
| term_start6         = 9 June 1980
| term_end6           = 19 July 1982
| predecessor6        = [[Banarsi Das]]
| successor6          = [[Sripati Mishra]]
| constituency6       = 
| office5             = <!-- Do NOT add counts or ordinals, as per [[WP:CONSENSUS]] -->[[Leader of the House (Rajya Sabha)|Leader of the House, Rajya Sabha]]
| term_start5         = December 1984
| term_end5           = April 1987
| predecessor5        = Pranab Mukherjee
| successor5          = [[Narayan Datt Tiwari]]
| office7             = <!-- Do NOT add counts or ordinals, as per [[WP:CONSENSUS]] -->[[Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha|Member of Parliament]], [[Rajya Sabha]]
| term_start7         = 1983
| term_end7           = 1988
| constituency7       = [[List of Rajya Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh|Uttar Pradesh]]
| office9             = <!-- Do NOT add counts or ordinals, as per [[WP:CONSENSUS]] -->[[Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha|Member of Parliament]], [[Lok Sabha]]
| term_start9         = 1989
| term_end9           = 1996
| constituency9       = [[Fatehpur (Lok Sabha constituency)|Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh]]
| predecessor9        = [[Hari Krishna Shastri]]
| successor9          = [[Vishambhar Prasad Nishad]]
| term_start10        = 1980
| term_end10          = 1980
| predecessor10       = [[Janeshwar Mishra]]
| successor10         = Krishna Prakash Tiwari
| constituency10      = [[Allahabad (Lok Sabha constituency)|Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh]]
| predecessor11       = [[Amitabh Bachchan]]
| successor11         = Janeshwar Mishra
| term_start11        = 1988
| term_end11          = 1989
| constituency11      = [[Allahabad (Lok Sabha constituency)|Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh]]
| constituency12      = [[Phulpur (Lok Sabha constituency)|Phulpur, Uttar Pradesh]]
| predecessor12       = Janeshwar Mishra
| successor12         = [[Kamala Bahuguna]]
| term_start12        = 1971
| term_end12          = 1977
| office13            = <!-- Do NOT add counts or ordinals, as per [[WP:CONSENSUS]] -->President of [[Jan Morcha]]
| term13              = 1988
| predecessor13       = ''Position established''
| successor13         = [[Raj Babbar]]
| office15            = <!-- Do NOT add counts or ordinals, as per [[WP:CONSENSUS]] -->President of [[Janata Dal]]
| term15              = 1988 {{endash}} 1997
| predecessor15       = ''Position established''
| successor15         = [[Sharad Yadav]]
| preceded1           = 
| office1             = <!-- Do NOT add counts or ordinals, as per [[WP:CONSENSUS]] -->[[Minister of External Affairs (India)|Union Minister of External Affairs]]
| term_start1         = 2 December 1989
| term_end1           = 5 December 1989
| predecessor1        = [[P. V. Narasimha Rao]]
| successor1          = [[Inder Kumar Gujral]]
| module              = {{Infobox pretender
| embed        = yes
| title        = [[Raja Bahadur]] of [[Manda (zamindari)|Manda]]
| throne       = [[Manda (zamindari)|Manda]]
| pretend from = 1971–2008
| year         = '''Sovereign Monarchy'''<br>1947 ([[Instrument of Accession]])<br>'''Titular Monarchy'''<br>1971 ([[Twenty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution of India|26th Amendment of the Indian Constitution]])
| king         = ''himself''
| relationship = 
| successor    = [[Ajeya Pratap Singh]]
| footnotes    = 
}}
{{Infobox royalty
| embed       = yes
| succession  = [[Raja Bahadur]] of [[Manda (zamindari)|Manda]]
| reign       = 1941–1947
| reign-type2 = Titular Reign
| reign2      = 1947–1971
| predecessor = Ram Gopal Singh
| house       = Gaharwal
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1931|06|25|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Allahabad]], [[United Provinces of British India|United Provinces]], [[British Raj|British India]]<br />(present-day Prayagraj, [[Uttar Pradesh]], India)
| death_date          = {{death date and age|2008|11|27|1931|06|25|df=y}}
| death_place         = [[New Delhi]], [[Delhi]], India
| spouse              = {{married|Sita Kumari|25 June 1955}}<ref>{{cite news|title=VP Singh's wife to get Rs 1 lakh for defamation|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/VP-Singhs-wife-to-get-Rs-1-lakh-for-defamation/articleshow/16759539.cms|access-date=9 January 2016|agency=The Times of India}}</ref>
| religion    = [[Hinduism]]
|module       = {{Infobox person 
| embed=yes
|children = 2, including [[Ajeya Pratap Singh]]
|alma_mater          = [[Allahabad University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]], [[LL.B.]])<br />[[University of Pune]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])
|party               = [[Indian National Congress]] (1969–1987)<br />[[Janata Dal]] (1988–1999)<br />[[Jan Morcha]] (1987–1988, 2006–2008)
| signature   = Vishwanath Pratap Singh Signature.svg}}
}}
| primeminister2      = ''Himself''
| primeminister1      = ''Himself''
| order               = <!-- Do NOT add counts or ordinals, as per [[WP:CONSENSUS]] -->
| order2              = <!-- Do NOT add counts or ordinals, as per [[WP:CONSENSUS]] -->
| order1              = <!-- Do NOT add counts or ordinals, as per [[WP:CONSENSUS]] -->
}}
'''Vishwanath Pratap Singh''' (25 June 1931 – 27 November 2008) was an Indian politician who served as the<!-- Do NOT add counts or ordinals, as per [[WP:CONSENSUS]] --> [[Prime Minister of India|prime minister of India]] from 1989 to 1990 and the [[Raja Bahadur]] of [[Manda (zamindari)|Manda]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Rathore|first=Abhinay|title=Manda (Zamindari)|url=https://www.indianrajputs.com/view/manda|access-date=2021-11-19|website=Rajput Provinces of India|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-09-01|title=List of all Prime Ministers of India (1947-2021)|url=https://www.jagranjosh.com/general-knowledge/list-of-all-prime-ministers-of-india-1473165149-1|access-date=2021-11-19|website=www.jagranjosh.com}}</ref> 

He was educated at [[Allahabad University]] and [[Fergusson College]] in Pune.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pandya |first=Haresh |date=2008-11-30 |title=V. P. Singh, a Leader of India Who Defended Poor, Dies at 77 |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/world/asia/30singh.html |access-date=2022-05-06 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>  In 1969, he joined the [[Indian National Congress]] party and was elected as a member of the [[Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Pandya|first=Haresh|date=2008-11-30|title=V. P. Singh, a Leader of India Who Defended Poor, Dies at 77|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/world/asia/30singh.html|access-date=2021-11-19|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> 

In the [[First Rajiv Gandhi ministry|Rajiv Gandhi ministry]], Singh was given various cabinet posts, including [[Minister of Finance (India)|Minister of Finance]] and [[Minister of Defence (India)|Minister of Defence]]. Singh was also the [[Leader of the House (Rajya Sabha)|Leader of the Rajya Sabha]] from 1984 to 1987. During his tenure as Minister of Defence, the [[Bofors scandal]] came to light, and Singh resigned from the ministry. In 1988, he formed the [[Janata Dal]] party by merging various factions of the [[Janata Party]]. In the [[1989 Indian general election|1989 elections]], the [[Third Front (India)|National Front]], with the support of the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP), formed the government and Singh became the prime minister.

During his tenure as prime minister, he implemented the [[Mandal Commission]] report for India's [[Other Backward Class|backward castes]], which led to major [[Mandal Commission protests of 1990|protests]] against the act. He also created the [[Sixty-second Amendment of the Constitution of India|Sixty-second Amendment]] and enacted the [[Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989|Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Act]] in 1989. In 1990 the [[exodus of Kashmiri Hindus]] happened from the valley of [[Kashmir Valley|Kashmir]]. Following his opposition to the [[Ram Rath Yatra]], the BJP withdrew its support for the National Front, and his government lost the [[Motion of no confidence|vote of no-confidence]]. Singh resigned on 7 November 1990. His prime ministerial tenure lasted for 343 days.

Singh was the prime ministerial candidate for the [[Third Front (India)|National Front]] in the [[1991 Indian general election|1991 elections]], but was defeated. He spoke out against the [[Demolition of the Babri Masjid|Babri Masjid demolition]] in 1992. He turned down prime ministership after the [[1996 Indian general election]] even through he was the first choice and relinquished the prime ministership to [[H. D. Deve Gowda]].<ref name="m959">{{cite web | last=Mukerji | first=Debashish | title=Before Deve Gowda, VP Singh was asked to be PM of United Front. He hid in his flat, car | website=ThePrint | date=8 December 2021 | url=https://theprint.in/pageturner/excerpt/before-deve-gowda-vp-singh-was-asked-to-be-pm-of-united-front-he-hid-in-his-flat-car/777894/ | access-date=29 June 2024}}</ref><ref name="w849">{{cite web | last=Srinivasaraju | first=Sugata | title=Deve Gowda and the accidental prime ministers | website=The New Indian Express | date=5 June 2021 | url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/opinions/2021/Jun/05/devegowda-and-the-accidental-prime-ministers-2311864.html | access-date=29 June 2024}}</ref> After 1996, Singh retired from political posts, but continued to remain a public figure and political critic. He was diagnosed with [[multiple myeloma]] in 1998, and ceased public appearances until the cancer went into remission in 2003. He died from complications of multiple myeloma and kidney failure in 2008. He was cremated with full state honours.