The last rites of five-time Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who is widely considered the architect of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), were performed by sons Sukhbir Singh Badal and Manpreet Badal. After hugging his father’s body one last time, Sukhbir and his three sons, along with Manpreet lit the funeral pyre. Several political leaders, including NCP chief Sharad Pawar and J&K’s National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, were present at the funeral.
Meanwhile, the Punjab government has declared a one-day state mourning today. All government offices, educational institutions, and banks in the state will remain closed as a mark of respect to the departed leader. The Chandigarh police has issued a traffic advisory in anticipation of the heavy traffic expected at the Akali Dal party headquarters in Sector 28 on Wednesday morning where Badal’s body will be brought for people to pay their tributes. His last rites will be held on Thursday at his ancestral village, Badal, in Muktsar district.
In death they unite. This holds true for estranged cousins, former Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and former finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal, who have otherwise chalked out separate paths in life but unite when tragedy strikes the family.
Manpreet Badal was seen visibly upset at his uncle Parkash Singh Badal’s death and cried bitterly when he embraced Sukhbir Badal at the Fortis hospital, where the senior Badal breathed his last on Tuesday. Both the cousins were seen together while carrying the mortal remains of the senior Badal from the hospital to the hearse that carried the body to Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) office at Sector 28 in Chandigarh where it was kept for the public to pay their last respects to the departed leader.
