Punjab Finance Minister’s father dies at 90 (Ld)

Chandigarh, May 15 (IANS) Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Badal’s father Gurdas Singh Badal (90), a former parliamentarian, died at a private hospital near here late Thursday night, his son said on Friday.

“It is with great sorrow that I inform about the demise of my father S. Gurdas Singh Badal. He passed away last night at Fortis Hospital, Mohali. He was 90,” Manpreet said in a tweet.

“His health had started deteriorating after my mother’s death in March and he was on life-support system for the past few days.”

Keeping in view the current lockdown due to coronavirus scare, Manpreet requested all friends and well-wishers to refrain from attending the funeral.

Gurdas Badal was cremated at his ancestral village Badal in Muktsar district during the day.

Gurdas Badal was the younger brother of Akali Dal patron and five-time Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. The former had unsuccessfully contested the Assembly election from Lambi against the latter in 2012.

“I am speechless today. It’s a loss that no language has words to describe. Never felt lonelier in my life. Hard to even think that he won’t be by my side now. My thoughts go out to Manpreet and other children. Praying for peace to him and strength to us,” Parkash Singh Badal said in a tweet.

Paying tributes, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh recalled the remarkable services rendered by Gurdas Badal to ensure the welfare of the people, especially the downtrodden, and for the overall development and prosperity of the state, particularly the Malwa region.

–IANS

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