SAIFAI/LUCKNOW: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, accompanied by Jal Shakti minister Swatantra Dev Singh and UP BJP chief Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary, visited Saifai on Monday evening to pay respects to SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav whose mortal remains arrived at his native village on Monday evening. On behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and governor Anandiben Patel, the CM placed wreaths of flowers on the mortal remains of the SP leader.
The Samajwadi Party sources said that his body will be kept at Saifai Mela Ground at 10 am on Tuesday for the public to pay their tributes. The last rites would be performed at 3 pm. The CM has deputed three ministers -- finance minister Suresh Khanna, fisheries minister Sanjay Nishad and MSME minister Rakesh Sachan -- to represent the government at Yadav’s funeral.
Union defence minister Rajnath Singh and deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya also confirmed their attendance at the funeral. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao, Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel are among other dignitaries likely to be present on the occasion. Sources said that other ministers, including some from the Centre, were also likely to be present at the funeral.
The CM also met former CM Akhilesh Yadav in Saifai to convey his condolences on behalf of the state government. He has already declared a three-day state mourning in honour of Yadav. The final rituals of the SP founder would be performed with full state honours, he directed.
Soon after learning about the demise of the SP founder, Yogi tweeted, “The death of former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and Samajwadi Party Founder Shri Mulayam Singh Yadav ji is extremely sad. With his death, the main pillar of socialism and ‘an era of struggle’ have come to an end.”
Yogi said that the death of the SP leader caused grief throughout the state. He was a leader with a fighting spirit. “He was an important pillar of the ‘samajwadi ideology’. He was also the centre of state politics for five decades. He also led his party in the Vidhan Sabha and Vidhan Parishad and led the state three times as the CM," said Yogi.
Earlier, during the state government's cabinet meeting, ministers mourned the passing away of former CM Mulayam Singh Yadav. The cabinet ministers, led by the CM, paid respect to the late Yadav and sent their condolences to the grieving family. All the cabinet proposals have been postponed by the government for the time being.
