Top leaders pays respects to Mulayam Singh Yadav at funeral

Saifai: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar were among those who joined thousands of people at the funeral of Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav on Tuesday.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, his Chhattisgarh counterpart Bhupesh Baghel, Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao, former Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath, Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu, NCP leader Praful Patel, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat and the Left party leader Sitaram Yechury were among the other dignitaries who paid their tributes to the socialist leader at the Saifai Mela Ground here.

Chandrababu Naidu, also the former Andhra Pradesh chief minister, termed Yadav's demise a "loss for Uttar Pradesh".

Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak were seen offering their condolences to Yadav's son and incumbent SP chief Akhilesh Yadav. Minister Jitin Prasada, too, took part in the funeral rites.

Businessman Anil Ambani, Yadav's brother and Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) founder Shivpal Yadav, senior Uttar Pradesh Congress leader Pramod Tiwari, NCP leader Supriya Sule, Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Jayant Chaudhary, farmer leader Rakesh Tikait, and senior Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh were present as the three-time chief minister was to consigned to flames.

Actor and SP MP Jaya Bachchan marked his presence along with her actor son Abhishek Bachchan at the three-time Uttar Pradesh chief minister's funeral ceremony.

BJP leader Rita Bahuguna Joshi, one of the opposition party leaders who arrived early, said Yadav never considered his political opponents as enemies and that he shared a personal bond with every leader.

Yoga guru Baba Ramdev, too, was seen accompanying Akhilesh Yadav at the ceremony.

Senior SP leaders Azam Khan, Abu Azmi, Ramgopal Yadav, Dharmendra Yadav, Swami Prasad Maurya, Ram Gobind Chaudhary, Kiranmoy Nanda, and Om Prakash Singh were among the leaders that were seen since morning at the pandal where their party patron's coffin was kept.

Mulayam Singh Yadav, who had also served as the defence minister, passed away aged 82 at a private hospital in Gurugram on Monday.

His mortal remains were brought to Saifai that evening and kept at his 'kothi', where thousands descended to pay their last respects to their "netaji", as he was fondly called.