Chandigarh, April 27
The mortal remains of five-time Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal have been brought to his native village Lambi for his last rites.
The Shiromani Akali Dal patriarch passed away on Tuesday after being admitted to a hospital in Mohali. The ambulance reached his village at around 10 pm, covering around 270 km via Rajpura, Patiala, Sangrur, Barnala, Rampura Phul and Bathinda. The last rites will be held at the village at 1 pm.
At his village, a huge number of villagers, including women and children, are present to pay him their tributes.
Badal’s nephew and BJP leader Manpreet Singh Badal could be seen teary-eyed. Manpreet, who had a few years ago quit SAD to join the Congress before switching over to BJP, had broken into tears Tuesday evening at the hospital when he met Sukhbir Singh Badal after Badal’s demise.
Both Sukhbir Singh Badal and Manpreet Singh were seen beside the mortal remains of Badal at the hospital. They also hugged each other.
Grief-stricken party supporters stood in queues at the SAD party headquarters here to have a glimpse of their leader for the last time as chants of “Sardar Parkash Singh ji Badal amar rahe (Long live Parkash Singh ji Badal)” rent the air.
