Bhairon Singh Shekhawat cremated with full State honours

JAIPUR - Thousands of people converged to bid adieu to former Vice-President and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Bhairon Singh Shekhawat at Jaipur’s Chandpol Maidan on Sunday.

He was cremated here with full State honours.

Earlier, Shekhawat’s body was carried in a flower-bedecked carriage. The funeral procession started from his residence. After passing through Jaipur’s main streets, it finally reached Chandpol Maidan for the cremation.

The cremation was attended by many distinguished persons, including former President APJ Abdul Kalam, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Nitin Gadkari, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

Union Ministers C P Joshi, Namo Narayan Meena and Mahadev Singh Khandela, NCW Chairperson Girija Vyas, Rajya Sabha MP Najma Heptullah and former Rajasthan CM and BJP General Secretary Vasundhara Raje were among others who paid tributes to the departed leader, who served as CM of Rajasthan thrice.

Since early morning, a large number of people had started visiting his home and later at the BJP’s party office at Sardar Patel Marg to offer their last respects.

Shekhawat was one of the most popular politicians of the state. He joined politics in 1952 and was a member of the first Rajasthan legislative assembly.

Following the death of the then Vice-President Krishan Kant, Shekhawat was elected to succeed him. He served as the country’s 11th vice president from August 2002 to July 2007.

On May 16, Shekhawat, 87, breathed his last at the Sawai Mansingh hospital, where he was admitted after complaining uneasiness and respiratory problems. He had a lung infection.

He is survived by his wife Suraj Kanwar and a daughter. (ANI)