Badal (Punjab). A large number of people thronged Badal village in Punjab’s Muktsar on Thursday morning to pay last respects to Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) patriarch Parkash Singh Badal.
The last rites of the Akali leader will be performed at the family farm, where a raised platform has been erected to perform the last rites. Senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Parkash Singh Badal was admitted to Fortis Hospital in Mohali on April 16 after he complained of breathlessness. He breathed his last at around eight o’clock on Tuesday night. He was 95 years old.
Heavy security arrangements have been made in the village as a large number of dignitaries are expected to attend the last rites of Badal, a five-time chief minister of Punjab. Party workers and common people from many places are reaching Badal village for the last rites of the Akali leader. Several leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, paid their last respects to Parkash Singh Badal in Chandigarh on Wednesday.
Badal’s body was brought to Badal village from Muktsar district on Wednesday night. Even while taking his body to the village, a gathering of people was seen on both sides of the highway. The Punjab government and the Chandigarh administration have declared Thursday a public holiday as a mark of respect to the former chief minister. Badal first became the Chief Minister of Punjab in 1970 and led a coalition government that did not complete its term. He was also the Chief Minister in 1977–80, 1997–2002, 2007–12 and 2012–2017. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly 11 times.
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