Ananth Kumar funeral: Union Cabinet condoles demise of BJP stalwart; funeral to be held in afternoon
The mortal remains of Union Minister Ananth Kumar, who passed away in Bengaluru on Monday, were consigned to flames on Tuesday evening will full state honours.
The 59-year-old Bangalore South MP breathed his last around 2 am 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. He is survived by his wife Tejaswini and two daughters -- Aishwarya and Vijetha. (Read Union Minister Ananth Kumar's full profile)
Funeral and last rites
The well-wishers and followers were allowed to pay their last respects to Karnataka's beloved leader at Bharatiya Janata Party's office at Jagannatha Bhavan till 9 am and then at National College Ground, which falls under his constituency, between 10 am and 12 noon. The last rites are being held at Chamarajapete crematorium.
As it happened:
03:10 pm: The mortal remains of the late minister consigned to flames. Brother Nand Kumar performed the rituals in presence of senior cabinet minister, friends and family.
02:30 pm: Bengaluru: Karnataka Minister DK Shivakumar and state Congress chief Dinesh Gundu Rao pay tribute to Ananth Kumar, who passed away on November 11.
01:50 pm: Union Minister Ananth Kumar accorded state honours in Bengaluru; BJP President Amit Shah, Union Ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad, Nirmala Sitharaman, Rajnath Singh and Piyush Goyal present
12:15 pm: Union Cabinet condoles demise of Ananth Kumar
The special cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi also observed a two-minute silence in the memory of Kumar. The Cabinet noted that in his passing away, the nation has lost an experienced leader, an official statement said. According to a resolution passed by the cabinet, from a student activist, Kumar became a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. "It was under his stewardship that the party expanded in the state of Karnataka and eventually formed the government of its own," the resolution said.
10:50 am: Leaders, public pay homage to Ananth Kumar
A stream of leaders and supporters paid their last respects to Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister and senior BJP leader Ananth Kumar.The body was taken from his Basavanagudi residence, where it was kept since Monday morning to Jagannath Bhavan, the BJP state headquarters at Malleshwarm, in a decorated military vehicle with personnel of the three services- the Army, Navy and Air Force- accompanying it. The procession began, with supporters chanting slogans "Bharat Mata Ki Jai", "Ananth Kumar Amar Rahe". State BJP President BS Yeddyurappa and party's General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka Muralidhar Rao were present at the state BJP office, where a pall of gloom has descended.
08:00 am: Union cabinet meeting to condole Union minister's demise
The Union Cabinet will meet today morning to condole the demise of senior minister Ananth Kumar. A resolution condoling the demise of the Union parliamentary affairs minister and hailing his contribution would be passed.
As per established practice, resolutions are passed by the cabinet in the memory of ministers and senior leaders.
Similar resolutions were passed following the demise of then Union ministers Gopinath Munde and Anil Madhav Dave.
07:00 am: Three-day state mourning
The Karnataka government has declared three-day state mourning since Monday as a mark of respect to the leader, who was groomed in the RSS stable before the stupendous rise in his political career graph. The national flag flew half mast yesterday as a mark of respect to the deceased leader.
06;00 am: PM Modi pays his last respect to Ananth Kumar at his Bengaluru residence
"In Bengaluru, I paid tributes to Shri Ananth Kumar Ji. We’ve lost an outstanding public servant, who had a positive impact on the lives of many. Also spent time with his family members," PM Modi tweeted from his personal handle after the paying the visit.
A steady stream of BJP leaders, relatives, family friends, party workers and people made a beeline at Kumar's residence to pay homage to the "most-loved" Bengaluru MP, known for his affability and cordial ties with rivals.
Foraying into politics in 1987, Kumar became a Union minister in the Vajpayee cabinet in 1998 when he was only 38. He remained in the inner circle of the central leadership of the BJP -- be it during the heyday of Atal Bihari Vajpayee or Narendra Modi now.
He served as an important link between the central and state units of the party.
President Ram Nath Kovind, the prime minister, Congress president Rahul Gandhi and leaders across the political spectrum condoled the death the six-time parliamentarian.
