Lucknow bids final adieu to Vajpayee as former PM's ashes immersed in Gomti

Atal Bihari Vajpayee's ashes were carried in a grand procession from the airport to the ceremony spot, passing through the main intersections of the city

Lucknow, the eponymous ‘karmabhoomi’ of former prime minister and Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee, bid the final adieu to its tallest ever representative after his ashes were immersed in river Gomti amid chanting of hymns in the presence of union home minister Rajnath Singh and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath.

Vajpayee had represented Lucknow in Parliament 5 consecutive times from 1991 to 2009 till he finally hung his boots from active politics owing to falling health.

Vajpayee’s foster daughter Namita and other family members were present during the ritual this evening on the banks of Gomti, which was overflowing due to heavy rainfall that lashed the state capital this afternoon and around the same time, when the urn containing his ashes had reached the Lucknow airport from New Delhi.

Union ministers Manoj Sinha and Anupriya Patel apart from UP Governor Ram Naik, who had served as the union petroleum minster in the Vajpayee cabinet, was also present.

Given his personal equation with leaders of all political parties, a condolence meeting, which was organised at the Jhulelal Park on the banks of Gomti, witnessed a huge turnout and presence of opposition leaders, including Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, UP Congress chief Raj Babbar, Congress leader Pramod Tiwari, SP legislator Shivpal Singh Yadav, Shia religious leader Yasoob Abbas, apart from several union and state ministers. All the leaders recalled their association with Vajpayee.

The ashes were carried in a grand procession from the airport to the ceremony spot passing through the main intersections of the city. People had lined up on either sides to pay their last respects to the departed souls by chanting of slogans and throwing flower petals from balconies and streets alike. Heavy downpour and water logged streets could not deter the Lucknowites from witnessing the procession piloted by a decked up truck and capturing the moments for a lifetime memory.

Similar immersion ceremonies would be held at other imported cities in the state, including Gorakhpur and Varanasi.

Vajpayee had passed away on August 16 after prolonged illness, which had kept him away from public life for over a decade now. His cremation rituals were also performed by Namita. After his cremation, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had announced that the ashes of its founder (Vajpayee) would be immersed in all the rivers as a mark of respect for his contribution to society.

However, the opposition has criticised BJP for allegedly trying to take political mileage out of his death for electoral gains ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha poll. Besides, elections in important states like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh are scheduled in the next couple of months and the party seeks to consolidate its vote bank by trying to strike an emotional cord among its traditional voters.