Sat Dec 21 09:32:12 UTC 2024: ## Five-Time Haryana CM OP Chautala Laid to Rest with Full State Honours
Sirsa, Haryana: Former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, who passed away on Friday at the age of 89 after a heart attack, was cremated today with full state honours at his farmhouse in Teja Kheda village. His body, draped in the Indian flag and adorned with a green turban and glasses, was kept for public viewing until 2 PM before the final rites. The ceremony, attended by a large number of mourners including Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, featured 12 quintals of flowers flown in from Kolkata, including 8 quintals of marigolds.
Despite their political differences, both of Chautala’s sons, Ajay and Abhay Chautala, along with his brother Ranjit Chautala, were present to bid their final farewell. The Haryana government declared three days of state mourning following his death.
Chautala’s younger son, Abhay Chautala, shared a heartfelt message on social media, describing his father’s passing as a personal loss for everyone whose lives he touched. Former Deputy CM Dushyant Chautala lauded OP Chautala as an “iron man.”
OP Chautala’s political career was marked by both significant achievements and controversy. He served as Chief Minister five times and was famously convicted in the teachers’ recruitment scam, serving a 10-year prison sentence alongside his elder son, Ajay. He was released two years ago under a central government pardon scheme. Remarkably, during his imprisonment in Tihar Jail, he completed his 10th to 12th-grade education, a story that even inspired a Bollywood film, “Dasvi,” starring Abhishek Bachchan.
Numerous dignitaries, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, and former CM Bhupinder Hooda, paid their respects and acknowledged Chautala’s considerable contribution to Haryana’s political landscape.
First Piper 