Thaindian News

New Delhi, Apr 25 (ANI): Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi will visit Puttaparthi on Tuesday to pay their last respects to the late Sri Sathya Sai Baba. The two leaders would arrive at 4.30 p.m., Andhra Pradesh’s Major Industries Minister J Geetha Reddy announced.She said devotees would be allowed a “last darshan” of Sathya Sai Baba till 6 p.m. on Tuesday.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 Saibaba 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, passed away following cardio-respiratory failure on Sunday morning. He was 85.His body has been wrapped in a saffron-coloured cloth and kept in a glass casket in the ashram’s Sai Kulwant Hall. 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)