Senior SAD leaders, SGPC president Longowal skip Calcutta’s cremation
AMRITSAR: Veteran Akali leader and former Shiromani Gurdwa ra Par band ha k Comm it tee (SG PC) chief secretary Manj it Singh Calcutta was cremated here on Thursday with state and Pant hic honours.
Even as senior representatives of other political parties, including the ruling Congress, attended the last rites of the Akali leader, top leadership of the Shiromani A kali Dal( SAD) and SGPCp resident Go bind Singh Longowal skipped the ceremony.
Akal Takht jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh performed ardas (prayer) during the ceremony. Punjab Police personnel also gave state honours to Calcutta, who served as state higher education minister from 1998 to 1999.
Punjab local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, local MP Gurji tS inghAuj la and M LA from Amritsar( central) OP So ni were prominent Congress leaders present on the occasion, former health minister Luxmi Kanta Chawla represented the BJP.
However, no one from the SAD high command came to attend the last rites. In their absence, local Akali leaders, including Gurpartap Sing hTikka and former MP Ra j mo hinder Singh Ma j it ha, rep- resented the party on the occasion.
Loyalist of former SGPC chief G ur char an Sing hT oh ra, though Calcutta was national general secretary of the SAD, he distanced from the party in the last years of his life owing to differences with the Badal family.
He was known as brain behind Akali politics, but had been staunch critic of Bad al sand their authority on Sikh institutions.
Meanwhile, S GP C chief sec retar yRo op Singh, member sB hai Ram Singh and Rajinder Singh Mehta were present on the occasion.
Besides, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders Kuljit Singh and advocate Jaswinder Singh also paid tributes to the departed leader.
As Calcutta was popular among Sikh hardliners, various representatives of radical groups, including Dal Khalsa spokesperson Kan war pal Singh and Simranjit Singh Mann-led Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) leader Kushaldeep Singh Mann were also seen.
THE LAST RITES OF VETERAN AKALI LEADER AND FORMER SGPC CHIEF SECRETARY WERE PERFORMED IN AMRITSAR