After Union Ministers, netas and top BJP and RSS functionaries paid their homage, the mortal remains of Ananth Kumar, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister and senior BJP leader, were consigned to the flames with full State honours at the Chamarajapete cremation grounds in Bengaluru South on Tuesday. The day witnessed many leaders and hundreds of mourners paying their last respects to the departed soul.
The funeral pyre was lit by Kumar's younger brother Nanda Kumar, who performed the last rites according to Smartha Brahmin traditions, amidst chanting of Vedic hymns by a battery of priests at the cremation ground.
Kumar's tricolour-draped mortal remains were accorded a gun salute by military personnel in the presence of his wife Tejaswini, daughters Aishwarya and Vijetha, other family members and, national and State leaders. Chants of "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" and "Ananth Kumar Amar Rahe" rent the air as leaders paid homage and the mortal remains were consigned to the flames.
Veteran BJP leader and former Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP president Amit Shah and State party chief BS Yeddyurappa and RSS general secretary Bhaiyyaji Joshi were present at the funeral. Also in attendance were Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan, Mahesh Sharma, Vijay Goel and Sadananda Gowda. Earlier, a steady stream of mourners led by Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu, BJP workers, supporters and members of public paid their last respects to Kumar.
Hundreds of mourners filed past the body of Kumar, which lay in state at his residence till this morning and was then taken to the party State headquarters 'Jagannath Bhavan" and the National College Ground in his Bengaluru South parliamentary constituency. Ananth Kumar, a six time MP from Bengaluru South succumbed to cancer and breathed his last on early morning of Monday.
From the Basavanagudi residence, the mortal remains were carried in a decorated military vehicle with personnel of the three services - the Army, Navy and the Air Force - accompanying it, amid slogans "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" and "Ananth Kumar Amar Rahe" by his supporters.
The body was later shifted to National College ground for the public to pay homage. The six-time MP was closely associated with the ground, having hosted many of his political events there. The mortal remains were later brought for the final rites at Chamarajapet in a procession, that was accompanied by hundreds of his supporters and general public, who raised slogans hailing the "most loved" Bengaluru MP, known for his geniality and accessibility.
The 59-year-old Bangalore South MP breathed his last during the early hours on Monday at the Sri Shankara Cancer Hospital and Research Centre where he was under care after returning home in October following treatment in the US and Britain.
In New Delhi, the Union Cabinet condoled the demise of Kumar, saying under his "stewardship" the BJP expanded in Karnataka and eventually formed a government of its own. The special Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, noted that in the passing away of Kumar, the nation has lost an experienced leader, an official statement said. Narendra Modi had flown in here from Varanasi last night and paid his homage. The Karnataka Government has declared a three-day state mourning.
Making his political debut in 1987, Kumar, a quintessential organisation man, had remained in the inner circle of the central leadership of the BJP — be it during the heyday of Atal Bihari Vajpayee or Narendra Modi— bearing testimony to the trust he enjoyed in the party's top echelon.
Kumar and Yeddyurappa are among the few leaders who built the BJP brick by brick, making it a force that it is today in Karnataka, which the party sees as a gateway to the South.
Breaking new ground, the BJP came to power in Karnataka in 2008, making it the first saffron party Government in the South, and emerged as the single largest party in the 2018 May polls also, though it fell short of majority by a few seats. Kumar, who made his parliamentary foray in 1996 from Bangalore South, where he remained invincible, had also served as an important link between the State and centre at the party and Government levels.
