Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav cremated with full state honours

SAIFAI: Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav was cremated with full state honours at his native village, Saifai, in Etawah district on Tuesday afternoon. His son and party chief Akhilesh Yadav lit the funeral pyre at the spot where Mulayam's father had been cremated.
Draped in the national flag as a part of state honour, his mortal remains were earlier kept at a pandal where thousands of his supporters, senior party leaders and politicians from various parties offered floral tributes to Netaji, as Mulayam was popularly known. This was the place where he would meet people during social congregations, like Holi Milan.
Wearing a ‘janeu’ (sacred thread) over his black jacket, as soon as a teary-eyed Akhilesh lit the pyre, the atmosphere reverberated with deafening slogans — “Netaji Ji, Dartiptura Amar Rahen” (Long live, son of the soil), “Mulayam Singh Yadav Amar Rahen” (Long live, Mulayam Singh Yadav), “Jiska Jalwa Kayam Hai Uska Naam Mulayam Hai” (The one who will keep shining is Mulayam). Before that, Akhilesh along with his wife Dimple Yadav completed the pre-cremation rituals.
The cremation took place at a specially constructed platform raised behind a Lord Hanuman idol. More than 1.5 lakh people have visited Saifai to pay their tributes to their veteran leader since Monday evening when his mortal remains were brought to the village. Mulayam’s brother PSPL chief Shivpal Singh Yadav and cousin, MP Ram Gopal Yadav, were standing by the side of Akhilesh when the cremation ritual was taking place.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and chief ministers of Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, Ashok Gehlot and Bhupesh Baghel, NCP chief Sharad Pawar and daughter Supriya Sule, Bihar deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, RLD chief and MP Jayant Chaudhary, former Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu, BJP MPs Rita Bahuhuna Joshi and Varun Gandhi where among the host of politicians from all spectrums in Saifai to attend the cremation ritual. The UP government was represented by the two deputy CMs Keshav Maurya and Brajesh Pathak. Union minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti was also present on the occasion.
Rajnath said that he had a very good relationship with Mulayam Singh Yadav. “Mulayam Singh Ji was considered a leader attached to his roots. His death has caused a great loss to the politics of India,” he added. “Mulayam Singh has won the public’s trust and confidence in social as well as political life. All the countrymen are saddened by his demise,” said the Speaker. Varun Gandhi said that he “was with Akhilesh Yadav in this hour of grief”.
There was an incessant flow of bigwigs who flew down to Saifai to pay their last respects to the SP founder. SP MP Jaya Bachchan came along with actor son Abhishek. Industrialist Anil Ambani and Sahara Pariwar chief Subrata Roy represented India Inc.
Besides, SP leader Kiranmoy Nanda, Former MP CM Kamal Nath, Congress presidential candidate Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress MP Pramod Tiwari, NCP leader Praful Patel, UP minister Asim Arun CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, his predecessor Prakash Karat, Aam Aadmi Party’s MP Sanjay Singh, farmers leader Rakesh Tikait and Baba Ramdev were also present on the occasion.
Mulayam passed away on Monday morning at the age of 82 at Medanta Hospital in Gurgaon. His mortal remains were brought to Saifai on Monday evening. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visited Saifai on Monday evening itself to pay tributes to the SP patron. He also laid wreaths of flowers on behalf of PM Narendra Modi and Governor Anandiben Patel. The Yogi government has announced three-day state mourning as a mark of respect to the departed soul.
Earlier, the SP patron’s body was taken out from his Saifai kothi and around 10 am on Tuesday and carried in a ‘chariot’ decked up with flowers to the Saifai Pandal, around 500 meters away, where it was kept till 3.00 pm. Apart from Akhilesh, Mulayam’s brother Shivpal Yadav and other family members travelled in the chariot. Thousands of people accompanied it and later queued up to pay their last tributes.