SAD patriarch Parkash Singh Badal passes away at 95

“Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal,Sukhbir Badal and Harsimrat Kaur Badal out side President House. (Express Archive)

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee with his Alliance partners (L to R) Prakash Singh Badal, Jayalalitha, L.K. Advani, Bansli Lal, Mamta Banerjee, Jaswant Singh, Nitish Kumar and Kushabahu Thakre at his residence on 9-5-1998. (Express Archive)

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.

A host of leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Droupadi Murmu, condoled the demise of Badal.

In June last year, Badal was hospitalised following a complaint of gastritis and bronchial asthma. In February last year, he was taken to a private hospital in Mohali for a post-Covid health check-up during which he had undergone cardiac and pulmonary check-ups too.

Parkash Singh Badal being hugged by his son Sukhbir Badal. (Express Archive)

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal performs sewa with his wife Surinder Kaur Badal at Golden Temple on the eve of the birth anniversary of Sri Guru Nanak Dev in Amritsar in 2009. (Express Archive)

Narendra Modi with Parkash Singh Badal during the 13th Vibrant Gujarat Global Agriculture Summit at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar in 2013. (Express Archive)

The SAD was an ally of the ruling BJP but left the saffron party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in September 2020 over the passage of three agri-marketing bills in Parliament. The party also pulled out of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government with the resignation of Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal from the Cabinet.