Punjab’s five-time Chief Minister and Akali patriarch Parkash Singh Badal — India’s oldest politician next only to BJP veteran LK Advani — was cremated with full state honours at his native village, Badal of Lambi tehsil in Muktsar district on Thursday.

The entire Badal family — Badal’s son SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal and his wife Harsimrat Badal, his daughter Parneet Kaur and sone-in-law Adaish Partap Singh Kairon, Badal’s estranged nephew Manpreet Singh Badal, and their children — were inconsolable. They stood with folded hands besides senior Badal’s mortal remains, kept at their ancestral house for darshan, as thousands of people, locals and from other parts of the state, queued up to have a final glimpse of their leader and pay last respects.

Sukhbir and Harsimrat could be seen in tears as people visited their residence to pay tribute. Their two daughters and a son also stood beside the mortal remains at their residence, with the younger one breaking down at several occasions.

With tears swelling their eyes as they bid final adieu, Sukhbir, Manpreet and Adaish Kairon lit the pyre along with the senior Badal’s grandchildren, including grand-daughters, to send across a strong message of women empowerment. Sukhbir’s son Anantveer and daughters Harkirat and Gurleen; Manpreet’s daughter Ria and son Arjun; and Adaish Kairoon’s son Jai lit the pyre of their grandfather.

Before lighting the pyre, Sukhbir and his sister Parneet broke down inconsolably, with the SAD president giving a last tight warm hug to his father and guide.

Cutting across party lines, several political leaders, including Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Haryana’s former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, BJP national president JP Nadda, Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, J&K’s former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, senior BJP leader Tarun Chugh, Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala, and former Union Minister Praful Patel, Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, former Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, visited Badal village to pay their last respects to the Akali stalwart. Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit, along with Mann, Hooda, and others attended the cremation ceremony held at the two-acre kinnow orchard, owned by the Badal family, about a kilometre from the farmhouse.

Badal's mortal remains were taken to the family’s farmland around a kilometer from the residence on a flower-decked tractor-trolley with his son Sukhbir and other family members standing with folded hands as the vehicle moved past mourners on the route. Sukhbir’s estranged cousin Manpreet, Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala — the great grandson of Badal’s close friend and former Deputy Prime Minister Ch Devi Lal — were among those accomoanying Sukhbir on the trolley.

The choice of tractor for Badal saab’s final journey symbolized his passion for agriculture and reflected the party’s support base of farmers, said an Akali leader.

Badal village was turned into a fortress with the heavy police deployment in view of the arrival of the dignitaries from different states.

A sea of humanity participated in the last rites of the Akali patriarch, who was sent off on his final journey draped in the National Flag with full State honours, signifying his role in strengthening the unity and integrity of the country and upholding peace and communal harmony.

From the Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, BJP president JP Nadda, NCP chief Sharad Pawar to the former Chief Minister’s security staff including both NSG and Punjab Police personnel to his cooks, caretakers and medical staff — all laid wreathes on the mortal remains of Sardar Badal — a people’s man to the core who commanded love and respect from one and all alike.

Lakhs of people from all over Punjab converged at Badal village to attend the cremation of one of the tallest Akalis ever. There were heart rendering scenes at the Badal village residence with people lamenting the passing away of their “messiah”. They also raised slogans referring to the late leader as the keeper of the peace in Punjab and bulwark against communal forces.

Earlier, the body of the Akali stalwart, who died in a Fortis Hospital Mohali on Tuesday night at the age of 95, was brought to his ancestral house on late Wednesday night in a specially decked ambulance, driven by Sukhbir’s brother-in-law Bikram Majithia from Chandigarh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several political leaders had paid floral tributes to Badal at the Shiromani Akali Dal office in Chandigarh on Wednesday. The body was brought to Badal village in Muktsar district on Wednesday night. Party supporters and people stood along both sides of the highway to catch a glimpse of the leader.

Badal was not a Politician but a Statesman: Nadda

After paying last respects to SAD patron, Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) national president JP Nadda on Thursday described Parkash Singh Badal as a “statesman”.

Nadda arrived at Lambi village in Punjab on Thursday 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,” JP Nadda said 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.

Badal's Alma Mater in Lahore Offers Condolences

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” read the official statement.