Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi pay respects to Satya Sai Baba

Puttaparthi (Andhra Pradesh), Apr. 26 (ANI): The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, and Congress party president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday paid their respects to departed spiritual guru Shri Satya Sai Baba at Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh.

During their brief ten-minute visit, the general public was asked to wait their turn for paying tribute to the Sai Baba, who died on Sunday morning from cardio-respiratory failure. He was 85.

Expressing deep and profound sadness over the Baba”s death, Dr. Singh had on Sunday said he was a spiritual leader who inspired millions to lead a moral and meaningful life even as they followed the religion of their choice.

“Sri Satya Sai Baba as a preacher of the highest human values was an iconic figure for over five decades,” he added.

Sathya Sai Baba, who was admitted to the super-speciality hospital at Prashantigram at Puttaparthi on March 28.

His body has been wrapped in a saffron-coloured cloth and kept in a glass casket in the ashram’s Sai Kulwant Hall to enable ten of thousands of devotees from all over the world to pay their last respects.

The Baba will be buried in the Sai Kulwant Hall in Prashanti Nilayam on Wednesday morning in line with the practice adopted for spiritual leaders in India, contrary to the Hindu custom of cremating bodies. (ANI)