Punjab tears up on Parkash Singh Badal's final journey

Thousands of people lined up along the route from Chandigarh to Badal village in Punjab's Muktsar district on Wednesday as five-time Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, who passed away on Tuesday night, made the final journey to his ancestral village, where he will be cremated with state honours on Thursday.
Badal's son, Sukhbir Badal, was seated in the co-drivers seat, while the latter brother-in-law, Bikram Majithia, drove the vehicle. Sukhbir's estranged cousin, BJP leader Manpreet Badal, was sitting beside the coffin at the back. After the 'kirtan and ardas' at the SAD headquarters in Chandigarh, the mortal remains of Badal were placed in the ambulance amid slogans of 'Panth te Punjab Da Rakha, Sardar Parkash Singh Badal Amar Rahe', or long live Badal. Akali workers and sympathisers from all walks of life, some tearful, joined the procession. Laybys and access roads along the entire 250km route were closed.
In Patiala and Sangrur, Akali leaders, workers and people across party lines, at many places, gathered and waited for the ambulance.
The ambulance would halt for mourners to shower flower petals and offer their condolences. Former MLA Harinderpal Singh Chandumajra and SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami were among the mourners who paid tributes to Badal at Bahadurgarh. The ambulance aso made stops near Punjabi University and Sangrur bypass.
Events cancelled, condolences
Former PM Manmohan Singh was among the people who expressed condolences. In a letter to Sukhbir, he wrote, "Parkash Singh Badal ji was a political stalwart who played a significant role in Punjab politics for many decades." Chief minister Bhagwant Mann, who is yet to physically offer his condolences, will pay his last respects to the former CM at Badal village on Thursday, said an official in the CMO.
In Panchkula, Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar dedicated the two-day Water Conclave, organised by the Haryana Water Resources Authority, to Badal. "He always used to talk about farmers. 'Water Conclave' is dedicated to him," he said. As a mark of respect, the Punjab Congress cancelled all election activities for Thursday. "All programmes, meetings, campaigns have been cancelled for April 27," tweeted Punjab Congress president Amrinder Raja Singh Warring. In Himachal, CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and his deputy, Mukesh Agnihotri, too expressed deepest condolences on the demise of the veteran leader.
In Amritsar, college unions called off their protest rallies scheduled for Thursday, as a mark of respect to Badal. The joint action committee (JAC) of aided colleges' managements, principals' associations of three state universities, Punjab Chandigarh Colleges Teachers Union (PCCTU) and the managements of unaided colleges had earlier planned to hold protests in Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Patiala, said JAC chief Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina. Former Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi described Badal's passing away as a "big loss" to Punjab.
The state's first woman CM and Congress leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal called him "a personality with big thoughts". "He never nurtured grudges and always had a great respect for women," she said. BJP leader Gian Chand Gupta called Badal a "national personality who always worked for strengthening the brotherhood of Sikhs and Hindus".
Punjab finance minister Harpal Cheema called Badal a "very humble personality with big thinking". Punjab education minister Harjot Singh Bains said Badal will be a subject to learn for political science students in future. SGPC former chief Jagir Kaur said it will be difficult to come up from this loss, especially for SAD. "I don't think there would have been a politician of his stature with such humility and humbleness," she said.
(Inputs from Chandigarh, Amritsar, Patiala, Shimla and Bathinda)