PM, Sonia to pay last respects to Khandu in Itanagar
May 6th, 2011 - 9:59 am ICT by IANS
Itanagar, May 6 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi are arriving in Itanagar Friday to pay their last respects to Dorjee Khandu, the Arunachal Pradesh chief minister who died in a helicopter crash over the weekend.
Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi are expected to reach Guwahati at around 9.30 a.m. and then fly to Itanagar in a helicopter.
Khandu’s body would be flown to Tawang, his home district, Friday afternoon for the funeral rites as per Buddhist rituals.
Khandu and four others, including two pilots, a personal security officer, and the sister of the Tawang legislator, were killed in the crash Saturday. The bodies were retrieved from the crash site at Lobotang near the 13,700 feet Sela Pass in Tawang district Thursday after days of intense search operation.
Senior Congress leader Jarbom Gamlin was sworn in as the new chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh late Thursday by Governor Gen. (Retd.) J.J. Singh at a hurriedly convened, sombre oath-taking ceremony at Raj Bhavan here.
Although six names had emerged, Gamlin, the power minister in the Khandu-led cabinet, got the nod from Congress president Sonia Gandhi at around 9 p.m. Thursday.
Four central ministers - V. Narayanswamy, Mukul Wasnik, Salman Khurshid and Bijoy Krishna Handique - were present at the swearing-in ceremony.
Gamlin was a former MP in the Lok Sabha, and as power minister he was instrumental in roping in several power giants to invest in the setting up of mini and mega hydro power projects in the state.
“I am committed to carrying forward the good pro-people policies of Dorjee Khandu. I am sad indeed to take oath on a day when his (Dorjee Khandu) body was retreived from the crash site,” Gamlin said soon after being sworn in.
“I would be laying emphasis on infrastructure development, especially roads, to improve connectivity in the state, besides focussing on healthcare and education.”
- Committed to Khandu's dream of developed Arunachal: PM (Lead) - May 06, 2011
- Gamlin sworn in as Arunachal chief minister (Lead) - May 06, 2011
- Nabam Tuki sworn in as Arunachal Pradesh CM - Nov 01, 2011
- Dorjee Khandu's body brought to Itanagar, last rites Friday (Lead) - May 05, 2011
- Operation on to retrieve Arunachal chief minister's body - May 05, 2011
- Sonia Gandhi to nominate Arunachal chief minister - Oct 29, 2011
- Arunachal saddened over untimely demise of Chief Minister Khandu - May 04, 2011
- Dorjee Khandu's body arrives in Itanagar - May 05, 2011
- Arunachal chief minister's helicopter crash site located: Chidambaram - May 04, 2011
- Hunt for new Arunachal CM on, Nabam Tuki emerging as frontrunner - May 04, 2011
- Wreckage of Arunachal chief minister's chopper found (Lead) - May 04, 2011
- Indian state minister killed in helicopter crash - May 04, 2011
- With ISRO lead, rescuers search for missing chopper - May 03, 2011
- Khandu's death: Arunachal announces seven-day state mourning - May 05, 2011
- Army team trekking to wreckage site in Arunachal: Chidambaram (Lead) - May 04, 2011
Tags: arunachal pradesh, bijoy, buddhist rituals, congress leader, congress president sonia gandhi, crash site, funeral rites, gamlin, helicopter crash, hydro power projects, infrastructure development, intense search, last respects, Lok Sabha, manmohan singh, mukul, power minister, prime minister manmohan, prime minister manmohan singh, search operation