Patwa's mortal remains consigned to flames

The mortal remains of veteran BJP leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Sunderlal Patwa were consigned to flames with full state honours in the presence of a galaxy of BJP leaders including L K Advani at his ancestral place Kukdeshwar in the district today.
Speaking on the occasion, Advani said, "BJP was not formed just like that. In fact it was formed with the sacrifices of leaders like Patwa-ji. We should take a vow to take it to greater heights."
An emotional Advani also spoke about his meeting with the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at the latter's residence a day before coming here.

"He (Vajpayee) recognised me, but was unable to speak anything," Advani said.
"When I see Vajpayee and (former Defence Minister) George Fernandes, I feel a lot of anguish that they are unable to get up and speak. The party's credibility in each and every corner of the country is only because of these leaders," he said.
The senior BJP leader said sometimes he feels like writing about the party. However, he did not elaborate.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his Chhattisgarh counterpart Raman Singh were also present.
Union Ministers Uma Bharti, Narendra Singh Tomar, Thawar Chand Gehlot and Faggan Singh Kulaste, senior RSS leaders Suresh Soni, and Madhya Pradesh Public Relations Minister Narottam Mishra, among others, were present.

Patwa's body was brought to Kukdeshwar by a special plane and kept at his ancestral place where a large number of people turned up to pay last respects.
Patwa (92) passed away at Bhopal yesterday after suffering a heart attack.