Pandit Sukh Ram, former Union telecom minister, cremated with full state honours

Shimla: Former Union telecom minister Pandit Sukh Ram was cremated on Thursday with full state honours in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi as hundreds of people joined Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur and other state ministers to pay their last respects.

Before the cremation at Hanuman Ghat, his mortal remains were kept for Seti Manch for Antim Darshan. His son and BJP MLA Anil Sharma lit the unreal pyre.

The chief minister said that Pandit Sukh Ram, who served as the union minister of state for communications (independent charge) between 1993 and 1996, would always be remembered for bringing a telecom revolution in the country.

He contributed immensely to the development of Himachal Pradesh and for the welfare of its people during his long political career spanning over sixty years, Thakur added.

Sukh Ram had breathed his last at AIIMS New Delhi on Wednesday after suffering a brain stroke. Besides the chief minister, Jal Shakti Minister Mahender Singh Thakur, Urban Development Minister Suresh Bhardwaj, Tribal Development and IT Minister Dr Ram Lal Markanda, MP and state BJP president Suresh Kashyap also attended the cremation.

MLAs Rakesh Jamwal, Inder Singh Gandhi and Jawahar Thakur; political advisor to the chief minister Trilok Jamwal; Zila Parishad Chairman Pal Verma; mayor, deputy mayor, Mandi Municipal Corporation councilors and thousands of people from different walks of life paid rich tributes to the departed soul.