Rajnath Singh, Sharad Pawar pay last respects to Mulayam

SAIFAI (Uttar Pradesh): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar were among the leaders who paid their last respects to Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav at the Saifai Mela Ground here on Tuesday.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and former Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath, representing the Congress, 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 seen offering their condolences to Yadav's son and incumbent SP chief Akhilesh Yadav. Minister Jitin Prasada, too, was seen.

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.

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

BJP leader Rita Bahuguna Joshi, who was one of those 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 was seen accompanying Akhilesh Yadav at the ceremony.

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.