Parkash Singh Badal cremated with full state honours at ancestral village

Badal, Lambi: Parkash Singh Badal was cremated with full state honours on Thursday at his ancestral village of Badal in Lambi tehsil of Muktsar district as thousands of mourners and leaders across the political spectrum paid their last respects to the Akali stalwart and five-time Punjab chief minister. His son and Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal lit the pyre in the presence of several dignitaries, including Punjab governor Banwarilal Purohit, chief minister Bhagwant Mann, his Rajasthan counterpart Ashok Gehlot, Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri, BJP national president JP Nadda, Nationalist Congress Party leaders Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, BJP leaders Hans Raj Hans and Tarun Chugh, Akal Takht acting jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh, former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Punjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma and former Punjab minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa.

Badal’s At Home

Earlier, Sukhbir Singh Badal led the mourners with folded hands as the mortal remains were placed in a tractor-trolley decked with flowers. Sukhbir’s estranged cousin and former minister Manpreet Singh Badal and Haryana deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala, the great grandson of Badal’s close friend and former deputy Prime Minister Ch Devi Lal, were among those on the trolley on the way to the cremation ground. The tractor symbolised Badal’s passion for agriculture and reflected the party’s support base of farmers.

Badal village resembled a fortress given the heavy police deployment in view of the arrival of the dignitaries from different states. Earlier, the body of the Akali stalwart, who died in a Mohali hospital on Tuesday at the age of 95, was kept at his ancestral house for “darshan” since 9am.

Family members, including Badal’s daughter Parneet Kaur, daughter-in-law Harsimrat Kaur Badal, her brother Bikram Singh Majithia besides grandchildren, were inconsolable. A party supporter at Badal village said the former chief minister was always ready to make any sacrifice for the rights of Punjab.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several political leaders had paid floral tributes to Badal at the Shiromani Akali Dal office in Chandigarh on Wednesday. The body was brought to Badal village in Muktsar district on Wednesday night. Party supporters and people stood along both sides of the highway to catch a glimpse of the leader.

The grand old man of Punjab’s politics first became chief minister in 1970, heading a coalition government that did not complete its term. He served as chief minister in 1977-80, 1997-2002, 2007-12 and 2012-2017.