Muktsar: Shiromani Akali Dal patriarch and five times chief minister of Punjab, Prakash Singh Badal breathed his last at a private hospital in Mohali last night. Upon his death the Government of Punjab and Bihar have declared a holiday on 26 April to honor him. All the educational institutions and government offices will remain closed, and the state will go for one day of mourning to mark respect for the former CM.
The five-time Chief Minister took his last breath on April 25 and died at 95. The doctors reported that Parkash Singh Badal had suffered various health issues over the past few years. He was also admitted to a hospital for a while in Mohali.
His last rites will occur on Thursday, 27 April, at Badal in Muktsar district as PM Modi reaches to pay tributes. This is also his ancestral village, and various political leaders, admirers and dignities from multiple parts of the state will attend his cremation ceremony. The current Chief Minister of Punjab, Bhagwant Singh, also mourned the death of the ex-Chief Minister.
He said the state had lost a figure that helped it tower up. Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, also told about the long period he spent with Badal and was saddened to hear the news of his death. Parkash Singh Badal had also been a Union Minister in the late 1970s.