Ex SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar passes away

Chandigarh, Dec 20: Former Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president Avtar Singh Makkar died on Friday after a brief illness.

He was 78. Makkar died at a private hospital in Gurgaon. He was one of the longest serving presidents of the SGPC, an apex religious body of the Sikhs.

Makkar remained the SGPC president from November 2005 to November 2016. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh expressed his condolences at Makkar's demise.

"Saddened by the death of Avtar Singh Makkar ji, former President of SGPC. My thoughts and prayers are with his family," he tweeted.

Former Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal also condoled Makkar's demise. "From heading the Gurdwara Singh Sabha, Model Town Ludhiana, as its chief Sewadar to leading the SGPC for eleven years, Jathedar Makkar will be remembered as both a dynamic preacher as well as a capable administrator," Badal said.

SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal remembered Makkar for his humbleness and humility.