Balramji Dass Tandon cremated with honours

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 16

Former Chhattisgarh Governor Balramji Dass Tandon was cremated with full state honours at the Sector 25 crematorium in Chandigarh on Thursday afternoon.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister, Dr Raman Singh, Punjab Governor, and the UT Administrator, VP Singh Badnore, Haryana Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki, ex-Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Shanta Kumar, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Chandigarh MP Kirron Kher, ex-Union Ministers Harmohan Dhawan and Pawan Kumar Bansal, Haryana Finance Minister, Capt Abhimanyu, Haryana Agriculture Minister OP Dhankad, former Delhi Mayor Aarti Mehra, former Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, and Additional Solicitor General of India Satyapal Jain were present on the occasion.

Besides office-bearers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Chandigarh unit, councillors and hundreds of people from the city paid tributes to the former Chhattisgarh Governor. Workers of the BJP from Punjab bid their last farewell to the departed soul with the words ‘Swargiya Balramji Dass Amar Rahe Amar Rahe’, ‘Jab Tak Suraj Chand Rahega Tandon Ji Ka Naam Rahega’.

Governor Balramji Das Tandon died on August 14, 2018, at Ambedkar Hospital in Chhattisgarh. On the same day his body was brought to Ambala by a special aircraft. After that his body reached Chandigarh by road for ‘antim darshan’ at 10.30 pm.

His body was brought to the Punjab BJP office at Sector 37, Chandigarh, from his residence on Thursday at 10.30 am with state honours. Thousands of party activists from Punjab paid their last respects to their departed leader after which his body was consigned to flames at the Sector 25 cremation ground at 1.30 pm. Governor’s son, BJP’s Chandigarh unit president Sanjay Tandon lit the pyre of his father.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice-president Venkaiah Naidu and many union ministers conveyed their condolences to the family on phone.

BJP national vice-president Avinash Rai Khanna, BJP Punjab state president Shwet Malik, Teekshan Sood, Sanjay Joshi, national secretary Tarun Chugh and Kalka MLA Latika Sharma were also present during the last rites of the party veteran.

There was a huge rush of the people at the cremation ground, who jostled with each other, to have a glimpse of the departed leader under tight security.