Chandigarh, April 25: Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal expressed deep condolences on the demise of country's most experienced and veteran politician, former Punjab Chief Minister, Sh. Parkash Singh Badal. “The demise of Sh. Parkash Singh Badal is an irreparable loss to Indian politics and his name is written in golden letters in the history of the country's politics,” he said.

The Chief Minister extended sympathies to the bereaved family members and prayed to the Almighty to give them strength to bear this loss. He said that Sh. Parkash Singh Badal, who started politics at the age of 21 by becoming Sarpanch of the village, remained active in politics till the age of 95 and was always at the centre of politics in his political career of more than 74 years.

Sh. Manohar Lal said that the five-time former Chief Minister of Punjab, Sh. Parkash Singh Badal, became the Chief Minister for the first time at the age of 43. During his last tenure, he was the Chief Minister for 10 consecutive years.

The Chief Minister said that in 2015, Prime Minister, Sh. Narendra Modi had described Sh. Parkash Singh Badal as the ‘Nelson Mandela of Independent India’.

He said that with the demise of Sh. Parkash Singh Badal, an era of Indian politics has come to an end; which had seen the making and changing of India from the independence till the 21st century. His goodwill and nature of gelling up with the common people used to establish him as a completely different politician.