Badal, May 4 (IANS): In an emotional but befitting homage to the late Parkash Singh Badal at the massively-attended Antim Ardas for the patriarch's departed soul, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Badal on Thursday sought to reach out to the people, especially the devout Sikhs, seeking forgiveness for "whatever mistakes may have been committed, inadvertently or otherwise in the past".

"I and my family owe an irrepayable debt of gratitude to the Panth and Punjabis across the world for the overflowing love and support we have received during these tough days filling me with boundless humility.

"This sacred bond with the Sangat tells me to seek forgiveness for whatever mistakes may ever have been committed at any time in the past by me, my party or anyone in our family," he said.

"The Sangat has always been and shall always remain supreme for us, and we always trust and submit to the highest grace of the great Guru Sahiban and Shri Guru Granth Sahib," Badal added, stressing the need to uphold the values his father worked day and night to uphold.

The Akali Dal President choked several times, overcome by grief. "I know I am hardly worthy of the unmatched and historic elegance of the legacy of Badal Sahib but I give you this solemn and sacred 'vachan' (commitment) that every minute and every breath of my life, I will dedicate myself to earning and deserving this legacy."

In what appeared to be a symphony of ideological and religious touch to politics, the Akali President's speech was marked by repeated reference to "Khalsa Panth, Panthic values, Punjab, Punjabiat and nationalism".

Meanwhile, a sea of humanity streamed into Badal village in Muktsar district in lakhs to pay their last respects to five times Chief Minister. Thousands walked several kilometers to pay homage to the son of the soil.