President of India
In 1982 he was unanimously nominated to serve as the President. Nonetheless, some in the media felt that the president had been chosen for being an Indira loyalist rather than an eminent person. “If my leader had said I should pick up a broom and be a sweeper, I would have done that. She chose me to be President,” Singh was quoted to have said after his election. He took the oath of office on July 25, 1982.
He served beside Gandhi, and protocol dictated that he should be briefed every week by her on the affairs of the state. The day before Operation Blue Star, he met with Gandhi for more than an hour, but she omitted even sharing a word about her plan. Following the operation he was pressured to resign from his post by Sikhs. He decided against resignation fearing to aggravate the situation on advice from Yogi Bhajan. He was subsequently called before the Akal Takhat to apologize and explain his inaction at the desecration of the Harimandir Sahib and killing of innocent Sikhs. Indira Gandhi was assassinated in 1984, and he appointed Rajiv Gandhi as Prime Minister.
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