Vajpayee's ashes immersed in Arabian Sea off Mumbai coast

The ashes of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee were today immersed in the Arabian Sea near the Gateway of India here in the presence of senior BJP leaders.

Earlier on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP national president Amit Shah had handed over urns containing Vajpayees ashes to all the BJP state unit chiefs asking them to immerse it in rivers and seas across the country.

The "asthi kalash yatra" here, which took place in the afternoon today, had several BJP leaders travelling in a boat and its city unit chief Ashish Shelar and senior state minister Vinod Tawde immersing the ashes in the sea amid sloganeering by party workers eulogising Vajpayee.

"The Atal Asthi Kalash Yatra aims to spread the legacy of the former PM and Bharat Ratna awardee across the length and breadth of the country," said Mumbai BJP general secretary Amarjeet Mishra who was also present on the occasion.

Vajpayee, three-time Prime Minister, died on August 16 after a prolonged illness that saw the 93-year-old poet-statesman withdraw from public life almost a decade ago.