Indus Valley Times

Punjab,Apr 26 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday reached Chandigarh, where he paid his last respects to former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who died at a private hospital in Mohali on Tuesday.

A video shared by news agency ANI showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Shiromani Akali Dal office, where mortal remains of Parkash Singh Badal were brought earlier today.

Modi had on Tuesday described the demise of Badal as a “personal loss” and said he was a colossal figure of Indian politics who contributed greatly to the nation.

“Extremely saddened by the passing away of Shri Parkash Singh Badal Ji. He was a colossal figure of Indian politics and a remarkable statesman who contributed greatly to our nation,” Modi said in a tweet.

Badal worked tirelessly for the progress of Punjab and anchored the state through critical times, the prime minister said.

“Parkash Singh Badal’s passing away is a personal loss for me. I have interacted closely with him for many decades and learnt so much from him,” Modi had said. “I recall our numerous conversations, in which his wisdom was always clearly seen. Condolences to his family and countless admirers,” he added.

Meanwhile, the mortal remains of Parkash Singh Badal were on Wednesday brought to the Shiromani Akali Dal party office in Chandigarh.

Centre declares 2 days of state mourning as mark of respect to Parkash Singh Badal

According to PTI, the mortal remains will be kept at the party office for two hours for people to pay homage.

The Shiromani Akali Dal patriarch was admitted to a private hospital in Mohali over a week ago and died on Tuesday. He was 95.

He was admitted to Mohali’s Fortis Hospital after he complained of uneasiness in breathing.

“Mr Badal passed away at around 8 pm,” hospital Director Abhijeet Singh told PTI over the phone. The hospital issued a medical bulletin shortly afterwards in which it detailed his health issues.

“S Parkash Singh Badal, Former Chief Minister of Punjab, was admitted at Fortis Hospital Mohali on 16th April 2023 with acute exacerbation of bronchial asthma. He was shifted to the medical ICU on 18th April as his respiratory condition worsened. He had been on NIV (non-invasive ventilation) and HFNC (high-flow nasal cannula) support along with medical management. He was being managed under Prof (Dr) Digambar Behera along with the Pulmonology and critical care team supported by Cardiology,” it said.

“Despite appropriate medical management S Parkash Singh Badal succumbed to his illness. Fortis Hospital Mohali deeply condoles the death of S Parkash Singh Badal,” the bulletin said.

Parkash Singh Badal was known for his witty one-liners

Badal had been in the intensive care unit of the hospital and doctors were closely monitoring his health condition.

Hospital sources told PTI his health condition suddenly deteriorated during the day on Tuesday.

In a bulletin issued on Monday evening, the private hospital had said, “Parkash Singh Badal continues to be under close observation in the medical ICU (Intensive Care Unit).” He was on a non-invasive ventilation, it had said.

“He was having severe breathing difficulty this time and having advance age he could not come out of respiratory issues,” a source had said on Monday.

The former chief minister was also hospitalised in June last year following complaints related to gastritis and bronchial asthma.

In February 2022, he was taken to a private hospital in Mohali for a post-Covid health examination during which he underwent cardiac and pulmonary check-ups.

He tested positive for Covid-19 in January last year and was admitted to a hospital in Ludhiana.

-The India Today