Mulayam Singh Yadav, Samajwadi Party founder, cremated with state honours in UP's Saifai

Mulayam Singh Yadav, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister, died aged 82 at a private hospital in Haryana's Gurugram on Monday.

New Delhi: Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav was on Tuesday (October 11, 2022) cremated with state honours at his native Saifai village in Uttar Pradesh's Etawah district. His son and current party chief Akhilesh Yadav lit the funeral pyre. As hundreds queued up for the final darshan amid the drizzle, Mulayam Singh Yadav's body was moved around 10 am on Tuesday from his 'kothi' to a bigger hall on the Mela Ground premises to allow people to pay their last respects. Akhilesh, Mulayam's brother Shivpal Yadav and other family members were onboard a truck decked up with garlands of flowers. A large number of people marched along the vehicle amid chants of "Netaji amar rahe".

The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister died aged 82 at a private hospital in Haryana's Gurugram on Monday. 

#WATCH | Last rites of Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo and former Uttar Pradesh CM Mulayam Singh Yadav being performed at his ancestral village, Saifai in Uttar Pradesh pic.twitter.com/nBUezhZqq1 — ANI (@ANI) October 11, 2022

https://t.co/jmBLAkovgk — Samajwadi Party (@samajwadiparty) October 11, 2022

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar were among those who paid tributes to  Yadav.

"Mulayam Singh Yadav was a big personality in Indian politics, it is a huge loss for the country. We had a very strong relationship. PM (Narendra) Modi could not come here but he asked me to pay tribute on his behalf," Rajnath Singh said.

Uttar Pradesh | Defence Minister Rajnath Singh attends the last rites of Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo and former Uttar Pradesh CM #MulayamSinghYadav in Saifai, Etawah. pic.twitter.com/BIzHqinVSE

— ANI (@ANI) October 11, 2022

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and former Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu, former Union Minister of State Praful Patel and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav were the other dignitaries who paid their tributes to the socialist leader.

Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak were also seen offering their condolences to Yadav's son and incumbent SP chief Akhilesh Yadav. UP Minister Jitin Prasada was also present.

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

#WATCH | Uttar Pradesh: Actor Abhishek Bachchan along with his mother and Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan reaches the ancestral village Saifai to pay their last respects to former CM of UP, #MulayamSinghYadav pic.twitter.com/iok6ZFCuS4

— ANI (@ANI) October 11, 2022

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

Yadav, who had also served as the defence minister, passed away at Medanta hospital in Gurugram on Monday morning. 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.

(With agency inputs)