Sukhbir Singh Basal, his three children and Manpreet Badal and his son lit the funeral pyre. (Express photo by Gurmeet Singh)Parkash Singh Badal Funeral Live Highlights: 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.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Chandigarh on Wednesday and went to the SAD office here to pay his last respects to former Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal who died at a private hospital in Mohali. Badal passed away at a private hospital in Mohali on Tuesday.
Parkash Singh Badal Death Live Updates: Badal along with former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and current PM Narendra Modi (Express archive)
Punjab governor Banwarilal Purohit and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann paid their last respects to ex-Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal.
Express Photo by Gurmeet Singh
In his long political career, five-time Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal called himself—and his Shiromani Akali Dal—a true “champion of the farming community”. The SAD patron, who died at 95 in Mohali on Tuesday, started several farmer-friendly policies during his tenures from 2007 to 2012 and 2012 to 2017, but most of them have remained unfinished.
Badal’s government passed the Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Water Act 2009 to save Punjab’s ever-depleting groundwater, end farmer suicides and to protect them from commission agents. He brought in a new agriculture policy to decrease the area under the water-guzzling paddy crop and introduced a direct payment system bypassing commission agents in 2013. And the Punjab Relief of Agriculture Indebtedness Bill 2016 was introduced to regulate and settle mountingagriculture debts. Read more
Security officials who are with Badal since long pays tributes during the cremation of Parkash Singh Badal at village Badal in Mukatsar. Express Photo by Gurmeet Singh
“Like a phoenix, Punjabis on both sides of the border rose again with unmatched courage and became an inspiration in their respective countries,” the five-time Punjab chief minister and SAD patriarch Parkash Singh Badal had said, while reminiscing the painful tragedy of the Partition and saluting the indomitable courage of Punjabis on both sides, the day he hosted a dinner at Chandigarh for Shehbaz Sharif, then CM of Pakistan’s Punjab in December 2013.
Like every Punjabi who still lives with that lingering pain of seeing the land of five rivers getting dissected into two parts (one in India and the other in Pakistan), Badal – a graduate from the 159-year-old Forman Christian (FC) College, Lahore – too was no exception, and no wonder that when he got the opportunity to visit Pakistan with then PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who took a peace bus to Lahore via Wagah in February 1999, the Akali patriarch was overwhelmed by nostalgia as it was a trip down memory lane for him. Read more
Congress leaders Deepender Hooda, Raja warring ,Sukhjinder Randawa during the cremation of Parkash Singh Badal at village Badal in Mukatsar.
Express Photo by Gumeet Singh
It was always said of Parkash Singh Badal that he had the common touch and that attribute of his endeared the common man to the ‘Doctor of Politics’. For the residents of Badal village in Muktsar district, the senior Badal was the go-to man for all the problems in their life as he always lent them an ear. Badal village had elected a young Parkash Singh as their sarpanch in 1947 and for the villagers the veteran leader was their sarpanch till he breathed his last on Tuesday at the ripe old age of 95.
The legacy of Badals had started from this village where the former CM’s family has over 150 acres of agriculture land. Read more
Sukhbir Badal and his sister Parneet Kaur broke down before performing last rituals of their father, Parkash Singh Badal at village Badal in Mukatsar, Punjab on Thursday.
Express Photo by Gurmeet Singh
It was always said of Parkash Singh Badal that he had the common touch and that attribute of his endeared the common man to the ‘Doctor of Politics’. For the residents of Badal village in Muktsar district, the senior Badal was the go-to man for all the problems in their life as he always lent them an ear. Badal village had elected a young Parkash Singh as their sarpanch in 1947 and for the villagers the veteran leader was their sarpanch till he breathed his last on Tuesday at the ripe old age of 95.
The legacy of Badals had started from this village where the former CM’s family has over 150 acres of agriculture land.
The SAD patron will be cremated in his agriculture land on Thursday. A part of kinnow orchards has been cleared and a raised platform has been made in the fields for cremating the body. The senior Badal will be cremated around 1 pm on Thursday as per the details available from the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) office. Read more
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. Read more
Express Photo
Soon after paying last respects to Shiromani Akali Dal patron who passed away recently, Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) state president JP Nadda on Thursday described Parkash Singh Badal as a "statesman".
Nadda arrived at Lambi village in Punjab today to pay his last respects to Shiromani Akali Dal patron Parkash Singh Badal.
"It is very saddening that Parkash Singh Badal is not among us anymore. He was not a politician, he was a statesman. He contributed his life towards establishing peace and brotherhood in the society. We learned a lot from him...," said JP Nadda at Lambi.
The senior Punjab politician passed away at the age of 95 on Tuesday. He breathed his last at Fortis Hospital in Mohali.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Punjab government announced a one-day holiday for all the state government offices in honour of the former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.
"All government offices, departments, boards, corporations and educational institutions in Punjab will remain shut on Thursday (April 27)," the official order said. (ANI)
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.
Read the full story here
The Forman Christian College in Lahore, where Parkash Singh Badal has studied in the pre-partition days, offered condolences on the Shiromani Akali Dal patriarch's death.
"Parkash Singh Badal is an Old Formanite from the pre-partition days who definitely had an impact throughout his long life and for which he was also awarded our prestigious Distinguished Formanite Award in 2013. We at Forman are proud of his achievements and contributions and offer our deepest condolences to his family and his loved ones at this time".
Parkash Singh Badal towered over politics in Punjab for decades weathering many storms. His political career started at the time of Indian independence — he was elected a sarpanch at the age 20 in 1947.
Over seven decades, he witnessed the battle for a Punjabi suba, the Green Revolution and agrarian prosperity, the Anandpur Sahib Declaration, the rise of Sikh militancy, healing and reconciliation within a divided society, peasant distress, migration of youth, flow of drugs and so on. In these years, he won numerous elections and was chief minister five times.
Read the full story here
The grand old man of Punjab politics Parkash Singh Badal 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.
After hugging his father one last time, Sukhbir Singh Badal, along with his three sons and estranged cousin Manpreet Badal, lit the funeral pyre.Parkash Singh Badal’s mortal remains were consigned to flames amidst prayers.
Parkash Singh Badal was given the ceremonial 21-gun salute ahead of the cremation of his mortal remains at his ancestral village Badal.
Badal's security team, including his gunmen and other staff, were especially called on stage.
Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann and Governor Banwarilal Purohit stood on the platform constructed at the cremation ground to pay tributes to Parkash Singh Badal.
Former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda also laid a wreath to mark his respect, even as Sukhbir Singh badal touched his feet. Among others who paid tributes were Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Majithia, his wife MLA Ganieve Kaur Majithia and BJP chief JP Nadda.
Last rites being performed by Sukhbir Badal and Manpreet Badal as SGPC chief Harjinder Singh Dhami guides them
A special announcement was made for INLD chief OP Chautala, who sat in a vehicle outside the cremation ground due to health issues and has come to bid farewell to his 'best friend', says Akali Dal spokesperson Daljit Singh Cheema.
A raised platform has been constructed where Parkash Singh Badal's body will be consigned to flames. Two acres of kinnow orchard have been levelled for the last rituals.
The last rites of former Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal will commence shortly. Badal's mortal remains were brought to a cremation ground in his ancestral village a few moments ago. Top political leaders, including Sharad Pawar and Omar Abdullah, were present at the funeral.
Politicians have now been asked to vacate the platform so that Badal's family could proceed with the last rites.
NCP leader Sharad Pawar and Jammu and Kashmir National Congress chief Omar Abdullah paid their respects ahead of the funeral of late SAD leader and former Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal.
Dozens of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leaders gathered outside Mohali’s Fortis Hospital on Wednesday to shower flower petals on a hearse that carried the mortal remains of former Akali stalwart Parkash Singh Badal, who passed away here a day earlier.
SAD leaders gathered in numbers on Wednesday to pay their last respects to the five-time CM of Punjab, whose body was first taken to the Akali headquarters in Sector 28, Chandigarh, on Wednesday before being ferried to Badal village in Punjab’s Sri Muktsar Sahib. The hearse carrying the body of Parkash Badal was driven by former minister, Bikram Singh Majithia. Read more
Parkash Singh Badal towered over politics in Punjab for decades weathering many storms. His political career started at the time of Indian independence — he was elected a sarpanch at the age 20 in 1947. Over seven decades, he witnessed the battle for a Punjabi suba, the Green Revolution and agrarian prosperity, the Anandpur Sahib Declaration, the rise of Sikh militancy, healing and reconciliation within a divided society, peasant distress, migration of youth, flow of drugs and so on. In these years, he won numerous elections and was chief minister five times. His successes and failures influenced the course of political and social life in Punjab; the choices he made shaped the state. Yet, he was no mere regional politician. The Shiromani Akali Dal he helmed and helped transform from a Panthic party to a party of Punjabiyat was a regional force, but Badal, like the late DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi, transcended the limits of regionalism to articulate a politics that subsumed ethno-nationalist impulses under the rubric of a federal India. In that sense, Badal was more of a national leader than a provincial politician.
Read more.
The Punjab government has declared a holiday today. People began to pour into the Badal village early this morning to pay their last respects to him.
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.
The last rites of five-time Punjab architect Parkash Singh Badal, who is widely considered the architect of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), will be held this afternoon at his ancestral village. People began to pour into the Badal village early this morning to pay their last respects to him.
His mortal remains will be taken from his home to the fields of Badal village in a 26-foot-long tractor trolley with Fakhr-e-Kaum" (Pride of the Community) written on it.
Tents have been erected on the sprawling fields where the last rites will take place. Two acres of kinnow orchards were uprooted to make these arrangements. Arrangements have also been made for langar for all those who take part in the final journey. (Manraj Grewal Sharma reports)
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) patron and five-time chief minister Parkash Singh Badal passed away at a private hospital in Mohali late Tuesday evening due to a chronic respiratory ailment.
Several political leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid their last respect to Badal’s mortal remains kept at SAD headquarters in Chandigarh. His last rites will be held on Thursday at his ancestral village, Badal, in Muktsar district. Read more
Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid his final tributes to ex-Punjab CM and Akali Dal architect Parkash Singh Badal at the party headquarters in Chandigarh.
The Chandigarh police have issued a traffic advisory in anticipation of the heavy traffic expected at the Akali Dal party headquarters in Sector 28 on Wednesday morning where late CM Parkash Singh Badal’s body has been brought for people to pay their tributes. Due to this, heavy traffic diversions are being witnessed between Transport Light Point to Railway light point on Madhya Marg.
While most of his political life would be spent in contest with the Congress, Parkash Singh Badal contested his first election on the Congress symbol. There was a history to it. Soon after Independence, the Shiromani Akali Dal launched a movement for a separate state of Punjabi-speaking people, giving the slogan of ‘Punjabi Suba’. The Congress government banned the slogan, and the conflict reached a point that the police entered the Golden Temple in July 1955.
Later, both the Congress and Akalis softened their stand and tried to work their way towards a ‘Regional Formula’ to end the dispute. For a brief while, the Akalis pondered merger into the Congress to realise this, and for the “greater good of Sikhs, Punjab and country”. A Haryana front which backed the Regional Formula had already merged with the Congress. Read the full story here
Ex-chief minister of Haryana O P Chautala arrived at the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) headquarters to pay homage to Parkash Singh Badal.
The body of Parkash Singh Badal was taken to the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) office in Sector 28, Chandigarh, from Fortis Hospital in Mohali. The hearse carrying the body, which was accompanied by senior leaders of the party as they walked along, will enter Chandigarh from Sector 49/50, said party officials. Parkash Singh Badal’s last rites will be held Thursday at his ancestral village, Badal, in Muktsar district.
Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) President Harjinder Singh Dhami, who reached the Fortis Hospital, said the vacuum created after Badal’s demise cannot be filled. “He was a leader of the masses. He shall be remembered for the generations,” Dhami said. Read here
“Cast your vote for Modi. He has raised the stature of India in the world, he has returned ‘maan’ (respect) to the Sikhs, given justice to the victims of the 1984 riots.” In speech after speech in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Akali patriarch Parkash Singh Badal would invoke Prime Minister Narendra Modi to seek votes for Akali Dal-BJP candidates
There was no denying his fondness for the PM, and the latter returned it in good measure, making it a point to touch Badal’s feet at public rallies. In 2016, when Badal was admitted to PGIMER, Chandigarh, with chest congestion, Modi took everyone by surprise when he landed at the hospital to spend half-an-hour with the ailing patriarch. Doctors said Badal perked up after seeing the PM. Must Read
Shiromani Akali Dal patriarch Parkash Singh Badal's grandson, and Sukhbir Badal's son, Anantveer Singh next to the mortal remains of his grandfather.
The body of former Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal has been brought to Akali Dal headquarters in Chandigarh for people to pay their tributes. Thousands of people are expected to arrive at the event.
SAD patron and five-time chief minister Parkash Singh Badal passed away at a private hospital in Mohali late Tuesday evening due to a chronic respiratory ailment. His body will be cremated in native Badal village in Muktsar district on Thursday.
Senior Akali leader and former Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Balwinder Singh Bhunder who traces his association to Badal since primitive days in politics said Badal’s cremation will take place in native village Badal on Thursday afternoon. At 95 and despite health problems, Badal was keeping a tab on political developments in the state. “I am alright. You focus on Jalandhar bypoll,” senior Akali leader and former Lok Sabha MP Prem Singh Chandumajra, who last spoke to Badal over phone days before he was admitted to Mohali based Fortis hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU), remembered Akali stalwart as telling him. Navjeevan Gopal writes
Shiromani Akali Dal architect Parkash Singh Badal's body was brought to party headquarters in Sector 28 on Wednesday morning where thousands of people are to pay their tributes. (Express/Jasbir Malhi)
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 late CM Parkash Singh Badal’s body will be brought for people to pay their tributes . Thousands of people are expected to arrive at the event, which has prompted the police to close several roads.
The road from Transport Light Point to Grain Light Point in Sector 26, as well as the road from Sukhna Light Point to Transport Light Point, will be closed to traffic. Additionally, heavy traffic is expected around the Grain Market Chowk, 27/28 light point, and surrounding roads. Here's a list of traffic diversions in Chandigarh today
The government of Punjab has announced a public holiday on Thursday, in honour of the former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who passed away on April 25. The Punjab government has declared a one-day state mourning on Thursday, and all government offices, educational institutions, and banks in the state will remain closed as a mark of respect to the departed leader.
Parkash Singh Badal’s last rites will be held on Thursday at his ancestral village, Badal, in Muktsar district. The cremation ceremony is expected to be attended by a large number of people, including political leaders, dignitaries, and admirers from across the state.
Parkash Singh Badal, the former chief minister of Punjab and Shiromani Akali Dal patriarch, passed away at a private hospital in Mohali on Tuesday. He was 95. Badal, a five-time chief minister, was admitted to the intensive care unit of private hospital following complaints of breathing difficulties on Sunday.
Mortal remains of Badal will be brought to Akali Dal office in Sector 28 Chandigarh on Wednesday. News agency ANI reported that Centre will declare two days of national mourning following the demise of the SAD patriarch. Read more
Hello, good morning! Welcome to today's live blog. Shiromani Akali Dal patriarch and five-time chief minister of Punjab, Parkash Singh Badal passed away at 95 on Tuesday evening. Stay tuned for updates as his funeral is scheduled to take place tomorrow.