Coronavirus War: Yogi Adityanath Decides to Skip Father's Last Rites During Lockdown

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday, decided against going to native Gorakhpur to attend the funeral ceremony and last rites of his father, who passed away in All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). The UP Chief Minister, in a message, said that he would not be able to attend the last rites scheduled for Tuesday in view of the fight against COVID-19. He also appealed to his family members to abide by the restrictions in place during the lockdown at the funeral ceremony and ensure that only the requisite number of people participate in the last rites.

The UP chief minister added that he would visit his native place after the lockdown period. Yogi Adityanath stated that the passing away of his father caused him immense pain.

The UP chief minister in a statement said that his father had instilled in him qualities of honesty, hard work and selfless service. Yogi Adityanath added that while he wished to attend the last rites of his father, he was duty-bound to serve his state and its 23 crore people at the time of the deadly coronavirus pandemic.

The Director of Information and PR posted a tweet on Monday revealing that Yogi Adityanath was informed of the passing away of his father when he was in a meeting with officials regarding combating the deadly pandemic. However, without getting perturbed the UP chief minister stood up only on completion of the meeting on COVID-19.