New Delhi, March 31
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, his predecessor Atal Bihari Vajpayee and senior leaders from different political parties expressed shock and grief over the death of Haryana Power Minister O. P. Jindal and Agriculture Minister Surender Singh and crew of the aircraft in a helicopter crash, near Saharanpur, in Uttar Pradesh today.

The Prime Minister, who is on a state visit to Mauritius, sent his condolences to the members of the bereaved families.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi also mourned the deaths. Expressing condolences to O.P. Jindal’s son, Lok Sabha MP Navin Jindal, Ms Gandhi said, “He was a man of outstanding ability and dynamism, who assured the success of everything he undertook, thanks to his commitment, hard work and devotion to public life. He had so much to contribute to the future of the nation and Haryana, when his life was tragically cut short”.

Mr Vajpayee, in a message issued here, said, "I am shocked to learn about the tragic demise of O. P. Jindal and Surender Singh." BJP president L. K. Advani spoke to Mr Bansi Lal in Bhiwani and expressed his condolences.

Talking to mediapersons, senior Congress leader Motilal Vora expressed shock at the demise of the two Haryana ministers and said the state and the party had lost popular representatives of the people.

Mr Vora, who has been in charge of Haryana, said he was stunned after hearing the news.

Former Prime Minister and President of the Samajwadi Janata Party Chandra Shekhar called the death of the two Congress leaders shocking.

"I had a close relationship with Surender and his family. He was a brilliant and energetic leader who played a great role in the Haryana politics. Jindal's contributions to the development of state have been very significant," he said.

Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee expressed grief over the death of the senior Haryana ministers.