Amid chants of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and recitation of ‘shlokas’, the mortal remains of former Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party’s Hindu mascot Kalyan Singh (89) were consigned to flames on the banks of the river Ganga near Narora in Bulandshahr in the presence of several Union ministers and numerous VVIPs on Monday.
The cremation of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement champion was carried out with full state honours at Bansi Ghat and Kalyan Singh's son and Etah MP Rajveer Singh lit the pyre. Rajveer was assisted by his son and UP minister Sandeep Singh. The family members and supporters of the departed leader participated in the cremation and bid adieu to Babuji -- as Kalyan Singh was fondly known. Around 20 priests performed the rituals which went on for about 30 minutes and the pyre was lit at around 4 pm.
Earlier, Singh’s mortal remains were brought from Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar Stadium in Aligarh to his native village in Atrauli. Kalyan Singh breathed his last due to sepsis and multi-organ failure at Sanjay Gandhi Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences in Lucknow on Saturday, where he had been admitted for 48 days. The UP Government had announced three days’ state mourning and declared Monday as a public holiday.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi rushed to Lucknow to pay his tributes to Kalyan Singh where he was joined by Defence Minister and Lucknow MP, Rajnath Singh. The mortal remains were taken to the Vidhan Bhawan and BJP State office from the residence of Kalyan Singh before being airlifted to Aligarh and kept at Ahilyabai Holkar Stadium for people to have darshan.
Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Smriti Irani, Ashwani Choubey, Ajay Bhatt, Mahendra Nath Pandey, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Maurya, UP BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh along with others gave ‘ahuti’ on the mortal remains. Earlier these leaders along with former Union Minister Uma Bharti and several UP Ministers and senior BJP leaders paid floral tributes at the cremation ground.
Security forces also presented a guard of honour before the body was taken for cremation.Earlier, the funeral procession from Atrauli to Narora, covering around 29 km, took over two hours as people thronged the roads at several places to pay their respect to the great leader of the region.
Thousands thronged the main road and stood there with folded hands shouting slogans like ‘Jai Sri Ram’. Some even showered petals on the funeral procession as it passed by.
In the morning, Union Home Minister Amit Shah along with Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan reached Atrauli to pay their last respects to the departed leader. After paying homage, Shah said," I had talked to Babuji the day the foundation stone of Ram temple was laid. He said that the goal of his life had been fulfilled. Babuji's entire life was devoted to the development of UP and the poor. He gave better direction to the country and presented a new momentum for development. Babuji’s death has left a vacuum in the BJP which cannot be filled. He used to play his full political role even though he was not in active politics for a long time. The youths also consider Babuji as their role model."
On his part, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan said that Kalyan Singh was a real hero of Ram Janmabhoomi movement and his sacrifice would be remembered forever.