Adityanath's father cremated in Uttarakhand, CM pays tribute at home

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's father and social worker Anand Singh Bisht was cremated Tuesday on the banks of the Ganga at Phoolchatti in Pauri Garhwal district.

Adityanath, who had announced that he would not attend the funeral, observed two minutes of silence at his official residence here with some officials joining him in the tribute to his father.

At Gorakhnath temple in Gorakhpur, where Adityanath is the chief priest, the management and staff of the math paid homage.

Adityanath father died at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi on Monday. He was 89.

The chief minister was in a meeting with officials at his Lucknow home, discussing the coronavirus crises when he learnt about the death. Officials said he continued with the meeting.

Later, in a statement, Adityanath said he will not attend the funeral as he was duty-bound to remain in his state due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The funeral pyre in Uttarakhand's Phoolchatti was lit by Anand Singh Bisht's eldest son Manvendra Singh Bisht.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat attended the last rites, laying a wreath before Bisht was consigned to the flames.

Rawat said the loss of a social worker like Bisht will be felt acutely by the people of the state and his contribution to society will be remembered forever.

Uttarakhand Assembly Speaker Premchand Aggarwal, Pauri Garhwal MP Tirath Singh Rawat, ministers Madan Kaushik and Dhan Singh Rawat, Parmarth Niketan's Chidanand Muni and yoga guru Baba Ramdev were among those who attended the cremation.

At the Gorakhnath temple, the pujaris, management, employees and some "sadhus paid tributes with two minutes' silence. Temple officials said social distancing norms were maintained.

The temple's office secretary, Dwarika Tiwari, said, "Maharaj ji's father was very simple, soft-spoken and very direct person. He accepted his son's decision to offer his life to social welfare, when he became a yogi."