Punjab ex-CM Parkash Singh Badal cremated with full state honours at ancestral village

Punjab governor Banwarilal Purohit, chief minister Bhagwant Mann, his Rajasthan counterpart Ashok Gehlot, BJP national president JP Nadda, NCP leaders Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel, NC leader Omar Abdullah Akal and Takht acting jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh pay homage to Akali patriarch

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.

Shiromani Akali Dal patriarch and five-time Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal’s last journey in Badal village of Lambi tehsil in Muktsar district on Thursday afternoon. (Sanjeev Kumar/HT)

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.

Former minister Manpreet Singh Badal consoling his cousin Sukhbir Singh Badal as he mourns before the cremation. (Sanjeev Kumar/HT)

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.

A two-acre kinnow orchard owned by the family about a kilometre from the farmhouse has been cleared for the cremation.

Family members of former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal accepting condolences before the funeral procession in Badal village on Thursday. (Sanjeev Kumar/HT)

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.

Parkash Singh Badal’s body, draped in the Tricolour, being brought for cremation on Thursday afternoon. (Sanjeev Kumar/Ht)

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.

A grief-stricken Sukhbir Singh Badal (centre) after consigning his father’s body to the flames on Thursday afternoon. (HT Photo)

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.