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Wednesday, Dec 21, 2005

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National

Tearful farewell to Sayeed

Laid to rest in native village in Lakshadweep

PHOTO: PTI

Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee consoling a family member of Union Power Minister P.M. Sayeed in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Androth (Lakshadweep): Union Power Minister P.M. Sayeed, who passed away in Seoul on Sunday, was on Tuesday given a tearful farewell by the people of Lakshadweep, the Union Territory he represented in the Lok Sabha for 32 years.

The last rites were performed at the burial ground at the ancient Ujra Mosque at 7.55 p.m. The funeral was delayed by several hours as mourners continued to throng the Jubilee Hall where the body was kept for the public to pay homage.

Mayyat Namaskaram (funeral prayers) were held at the mosque before the body was taken to the burial ground. Prayers were also held at the burial site and lines from the Quran were recited as the coffin was lowered.

Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, A. Rehaman Khan, Union Ministers Shakeel Ahmed and Sis Ram Ola, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, and his Cabinet colleagues were among those who attended the funeral.

Emotional scenes were witnessed at the hall, which was built by Sayeed using funds under the MP Local Area Development Scheme. Wailing men, women and children were seen trying to catch a glimpse of their leader, who represented them in the Lok Sabha from 1967 to 1999.

From the hall, the body was taken to Sayeed's ancestral home `Padanatha' where prayers were held. Congress leaders Margaret Alva, Ashok Gehlot and Yogendra Shastri attended the funeral. Lakshadweep MP, P. Pookunhi Koya, administrator Parimal Rai and Collector-cum-Development Commissioner Madhu Vyas were also present.

Arrival in Kochi

Sayeed's body was brought to Kochi on Tuesday afternoon en route to his native village in Androth. The special IAF flight carrying the body reached Nedumbassery airport, where M.K. Munner, K.C. Venugopal, V.K. Ibrahim Kunju and Kerala Assembly Speaker Therambil Ramakrishan paid their respects.

Thousands of people and students of Lakshadweep living in Kochi queued up at the airport to pay their respects.

Sayeed's body was taken to Androth at around 1.30 p.m. in a helicopter. — PTI

Tributes paid

UNI reports from New Delhi:

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi were among a huge gathering of top political leaders who paid their last tributes to Sayeed on Tuesday morning before his body was flown to Kochi by a special aircraft.

In a poignant moment at number 3, Gurdwara Rakabganj Road, the residence of Sayeed here, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee broke down beside the body of the veteran parliamentarian. He recalled how the soft-spoken Sayeed said on December 7 that he would be back soon from Seoul and meet him.

He was suffering from an enlarged liver, but died of a massive heart attack on Sunday evening at a hospital in Seoul where he had gone for treatment.

At the jam-packed residence of Sayeed were seen Information and Broadcasting Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi, Rajya Sabha Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Congress leader Moti Lal Vora and Deputy Chairman Rehman Khan, Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and the three service chiefs. Also present was the Haryana Governor.

All the CMDs of power sector utilities were present including members of the Power Ministry led by Secretary R.V. Shahi.

Sayeed is survived by his wife, his 25-year-old son and seven daughters.

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