Obituary

2 HARYANA MINISTERS DIE IN COPTER CRASH

SAHARANPUR (UTTAR PRADESH): The Haryana Agriculture Minister, Shri Surender Singh, 59, and his Cabinet colleague and industrialist, Shri O.P. Jindal, 75, were killed on 31 March when their helicopter crashed near Mehnge village here. They were on their way from Chandigarh to New Delhi. Shri Surender Singh is the son of the former Chief Minister, Shri Bansi Lal. Shri Jindal, father of Shri Naveen Jindal, Congress MP, held the power portfolio.

The pilot, Shri P.S. Chauhan, was alive when the villagers reached the crash site, but died later. The other two occupants of the French-made Euro King helicopter _ Haryana MLA Shri Ved Goyal, and Shri Jindal's personal security officer, Shri Vinod Kumar _ miraculously survived with leg and back injuries. They were admitted to hospital here.

The helicopter, which was bought by Shri Jindal six months ago and had been used extensively in the last Haryana Assembly elections. It had lifted off from Chandigarh around noon. It crashed 35 minutes later apparently developing a technical snag.

The Chief Minister of Haryana, Shri Bhupinder Singh Hooda, was one of the first VIPs to reach Saharanpur, after a brief aerial survey of the crash site. A large number of politicians thronged the Civil Hospital. Prominent among them being Shri Jindal's son Shri Naveen Jindal. On receiving instructions from the U.P. Chief Minister, Shri Mulayam Singh Yadav, the Cabinet Minister, Shri Azam Khan, also reached Saharanpur.

Condolences

In a condolence message, the President, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, said he was praying to the Almighty to give the family members of the deceased the strength to bear the irreparable losses. The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, currently in Mauritius on a trip, also offered his deepest condolences to the families at their tragic loss.

The Congress and the United Progressive Alliance chairperson, Smt. Smt. Sonia Gandhi, wrote letters of condolence to the former Haryana Chief Minister, Shri Bansi Lal, and Shri Naveen Jindal, expressing her deepest sympathy. "At this time of grief my thoughts are with you and your family," she wrote.

"Saddened" at the untimely demise of the two Ministers, the External Affairs Minister, Shri K. Natwar Singh, expressed his profound shock at the incident. "We had known both the deceased and their families and offer our heartfelt condolences to Bansi Lal, Kiran Chaudhary, Naveen Jindal and all the members of the Jindal family. Only a few days ago, we had met them both and they were looking forward to their tenures as Ministers," he said.

Senior Congress leader Shri Motilal Vora said the State and the party have lost popular representatives of the people. "I was stunned after hearing the news of the death of Shri Jindal and Shri Singh. I knew Shri Jindal for years as an industrialist as well as a popular public figure. We are extremely shocked and grieved over the death of the two leaders," he said.

Describing the death of the two leaders as a loss to the country, the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president, Shri Ram Babu Sharma, offered his sympathy to the bereaved families. "The void created by their sudden death can never be filled and it is an irreparable loss to the Congress. They were dynamic leaders," he said. The Union Minister for Urban Development and Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad, expressed shock at the accident.

In separate messages to the bereaved families, the Defence Minister, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, expressed his sympathy. The Communist Party of India (CPI) also expressed disbelief at the death of the two Haryana Ministers. "I am shocked to learn about the tragic demise of Shri Jindal and Shri Singh," said the CPI general secretary, Shri A.B. Bardhan.

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