Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today expressed grief over the death of his father, Anand Singh Bisht, this morning at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi.
In a statement, Yogi Adityanath said he would not be able to attend the last rites tomorrow because of the lockdown and his responsibilities in the fight against coronavirus. “I am very saddened to hear the news of my father’s death. My father has always taught me to be faithful, hardworking and selfless. I wanted to be with him in his final moments, but could not due to my responsibility to protect Uttar Pradesh’s 23 crore people. I will not be able to attend the funeral tomorrow due to the lockdown to control the spread of coronavirus. I appeal to my mother and my relatives to follow the lockdown protocol while attending the funeral. I will visit after the lockdown ends,” said the Chief Minister.
Mr Bisht, 71, was admitted in hospital last month due to kidney problems. His body is being taken to his village in Pauri district of Uttarakhand.
Yogi Adityanath received the news of his father’s death in the middle of a meeting on the COVID-19 crisis, a senior bureaucrat tweeted.
Several leaders, including Union Minister Smriti Irani, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Kamal Nath have condoled the death of Yogi Adityanth’s father.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="hi" dir="ltr">माननीय मुख्यमंत्री <a href="https://twitter.com/myogiadityanath?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@myogiadityanath</a> जी के पिता श्री आनंद सिंह बिष्ट जी के निधन का दुखद समाचार प्राप्त हुआ । प्रभु उनकी आत्मा को शांति दें एवं उनके परिजनों को इस कठिन समय में साहस प्रदान करें 🙏</p>— Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) <a href="https://twitter.com/smritiirani/status/1252124538604867586?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 20, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Former UP chief minister and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav also expressed condolences.
<blockquote
class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="hi" dir="ltr">मुख्यमंत्री योगी
आदित्यनाथ जी के पिता के देहावसान पर भावभीनी
श्रद्धांजलि!</p>— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) <a
href="https://twitter.com/yadavakhilesh/status/1252127719300591616?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April
20, 2020</a></blockquote>
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charset="utf-8"></script>