Thousands join Vajpayee’s funeral in Delhi

Former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, one of India's most respected and towering politicians, was cremated in New Delhi today with full state honours amidst outpour of intense grief across the country over the loss of a man whose inclusive politics brought the right wing Bharatiya Janata Party to the political mainstream and eventually to power.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi walked along with a sea of mourners the entire four km stretch behind the flower-decked gun carriage carrying Vajpayee's body kept in a casket as it made its way from the party's national headquarters on Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg in central Delhi to the cremation ground at Smriti Sthal on the banks of the river Yamuna where the memorials of former Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri are located.

Thousands of mourners chanting "Atal Bihari Amar Rahe (long live Atal Bihari)" joined the funeral procession led by a march of the three services of the armed forces. Vajpayee's last rites were performed by his foster daughter Namita Bhattacharya.

Vajpayee passed away on Thursday evening at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences where he had been admitted in June.

Thousands also lined on both sides of the streets from the party headquarters to Vajpayee's final resting place, hoping for a last glimpse of the departed leader.

Bangladesh Foreign Minister A H Mahmood Ali was among the foreign leaders who attended the cremation and paid their last respects to Vajpayee. Ali shook hand with Modi and later placed a wreath near the casket containing 93-year-old Vajpayee's body. Ali also stood near the casket for a few seconds.

Among the other foreign dignitaries were Bhutan's King Jigme Khesar Namgiyel Wangchuk, Nepal Foreign Minister Pradip K Gyawali, Pakistan Law Minister Ali Zafar, Afghanistan's former President Hamid Karzai and Sri Lanka acting Foreign Minister Lakshman Kiriella.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, Trinamool Congress leaders Sukhendu Shekhar Roy and many other senior leaders across party lines attended the cremation, reflecting Vajpayee's wide acceptability in the political arena.

At the cremation site, Indian President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Parliament Speaker Sumitra Mahahjan and Modi laid a wreath on the body of Vajpayee and bowed before him.

BJP president Amit Shah, several federal ministers and chief ministers of states also walked in the procession as thousands of mourners chanted "Atal Bihar Amar Rahe" and showered rose petals on the glass casket carrying the mortal remains of the three-time Prime Minister who died yesterday after battling a long spell of illness.

The body of Vajpayee wrapped in national flag and kept in a casket was taken out of his official residence on Krishna Menon Marg at 11am Indian time today and taken to the national headquarters of the party he founded in 1980 and was its first President.

Vajpayee, who was Prime Minister on three different occasions in 1996, 1998 and 1999-2004, could never visit the plush new BJP national headquarters.

Modi, Kovind, former president Pranab Mukherjee, former PM Manmohan Singh and former deputy prime minister Lal Krishna Advani , Vajpayee's closest friend for six decades,- were among those who paid their respects to the iconic BJP leader. Earlier today, a long queue of mourners was seen outside the house of Vajpayee.

The Indian government announced a seven-day national mourning and educational institutions and offices in many Indian states, including  those ruled by non-BJP parties, were shut today as a mark of respect for Vajpayee, reflecting the appeal he always enjoyed across the political spectrum. During the period of state mourning, the national flag will be flown at half-mast throughout India.

Vajpayee was the first non-Congress Prime Minister to complete an entire five-year term in office as head of a BJP-led National Democratic Alliance between March 1998 and May 2004.

A brilliant orator and a poet, Vajpayee was hugely popular for his ready wit that made him a instant hit on both sides of the political divide.