Kalyan Singh to be cremated in Bulandshahr today

Singh had considered Dibai his 'karambhoomi' because he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Bulandshahr once and twice to the state Assembly from Dibai constituency.

Picture credit: ANI

Aligarh: The mortal remains of former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh will be cremated at the Narora Ghat in Bulandshahr on Monday (August 23) in the afternoon.

"The funeral procession will begin from the stadium at 9 a.m. on Monday. After a brief halt at Atrauli, it will reach Dibai where the last rites will take place around 3 pm," Aligarh BJP MP Satish Gautam said, according to news agency IANS.

Chandrapal Singh, a close aide of late leader, said "He always chose Atrauli over Dibai, but maintained that Aligarh is his ‘Janambhoomi’ while Bulandshahr his 'karambhoomi'. Therefore, he is being cremated in Dibai."

Singh considered Dibai his `karambhoomi` because he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Bulandshahr once and twice to the state Assembly from Dibai constituency.

Dibai is also the nearest Ganga ghat.

The mortal remains of the late leader were brought to the Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar Stadium on Sunday evening in an air ambulance from Lucknow. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath accompanied the remains.

Thousands queued up to pay their last respects to the late leader and cries of `Jai Shree Ram` and `Babu ji Amar Rahen` filled the air.

The BJP`s top brass is likely to be present during the last rites, with workers claiming that over 5 lakh people are expected to attend the cremation.

Meanwhile, Abhishek Pandey, chief development officer (CDO) of Bulandshahr, said that the irrigation department`s land is being cleaned up for the cremation.

The ground has a capacity to accommodate over 3,000 people but the nearby areas can accommodate a larger crowd.

"The body of Kalyan Singh will be bathed in Ganga before cremation," Pandey said.

Earlier on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP President J.P. Nadda and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had visited the departed leader`s Lucknow residence to pay tributes.

(With inputs from news agencies)