Pune: A sea of mourners converged upon Kadegaon tehsil in Sangli district on Saturday to bid a tearful adieu to senior Congress leader and former State Minister Patangrao Kadam.
Earlier in the day, Kadam’s body was kept at his Pune bungalow, Sinhagad, where large crowds paid their last respects. Politicians across party lines, including Congress leaders Praniti Shinde, former President Pratibha Patil and BJP MP from Pune Anil Shirole, were present.
At 10 a.m., the funeral procession moved along the city’s roads amid robust security, reaching Bharati Vidyapeeth, the university Kadam helped found to educate rural students.
Congress leaders remembered Kadam’s meteoric rise in politics. Born in Sangli’s Sonsal village, Kadam had humble beginnings, working as a part-time teacher in a secondary school in Pune. NCP president Sharad Pawar said Kadam’s efforts had resulted more than four lakh students getting education.
Kadam’s body was taken to Sangli in the afternoon in a private helicopter, accompanied by his son, Youth Congress president Vishwajeet; brother, Shivajirao; and son-in-law, Rajendra Jagtap.
Mourners from neighbouring villages congregated at Sonhira Cooperative Sugar Factory, which Kadam had set up, at Wangi. Shops in Kadegaon and Palus tehsils downed shutters.
The Congressman was cremated with full State honours, with Vishwajeet lighting the funeral pyre.
