Proceedings adjourned for an hour in memory of Lata

New Delhi/Bhopal: Both Houses of Parliament on Monday adjourned proceedings for one hour in memory of Lata Mangeshkar while the Madhya Pradesh government announced that a music academy and a museum showcasing all songs of the iconic singer will be set up at her birthplace in Indore.

As Mangeshkar’s nephew Adinath collected her ashes from Shivaji Park in Mumbai where she was cremated with full state honours on Sunday, Maharashtra BJP MLA Ram Kadam and state Congress president Nana Patole urged the state government that a memorial be built at the cremation site. There is no word yet from the Mangeshkar family on where the ashes will be immersed.

Reacting to the demand, the Shiv Sena, which is heading the ruling coalition with the Congress and the NCP in Maharashtra, said there should be no politics over the issue. The demand assumes significance as the sprawling park in Dadar is also the site where Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray was cremated in 2012 and his memorial built there despite opposition from civic groups.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid rich tributes to Mangeshkar at the start of his reply to the debate on the President’s address to the joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, saying her contribution strengthened the unity of the country.