Vajpayee's ashes immersed in Gomti, Lucknow pays farewell

Ashes of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee were immersed here in the Gomti, among the several rivers across the country where such rituals took place today.

A portion of his ashes was brought this morning to Lucknow, the Bharatiya Janata Party leader's political 'karmabhoomi' from where he won five successive elections to the Lok Sabha.

Cutting across party lines, political leaders turned up at a meeting at Jhulelal Vatika here to pay homage to Vajpayee who died on August 16.

Leaders from Congress, Samajwadi Party and BJP's alliance partners Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party and Apna Dal (Sonelal) were among those who attended.

The gathering, which included Vajpayee's family members observed two minutes of silence in memory of the leader.

Union Home minister Rajnath Singh said, "Atalji was an epitome of simplicity and decency.

He said after becoming prime minister, Vajpayee made India hold its head high in the international arena.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, "Whenever the fulfilment of gram swaraj' comes up, Atalji is remembered for the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (rural roads scheme).

Similar is the case with mobile phones and the telecommunication revolution. After Independence, the development of roads and the Golden Quadrilateral project remind us of Atalji," he said at the gathering.

Rajnath Singh, Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey and Vajpayee's family members arrived here with the ashes from New Delhi.

At the airport, Yogi Adityanath and deputy chief ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma were present to receive the ashes.

A guard of honour was also presented at the airport to honour Vajpayee.

A special vehicle carrying the ashes then travelled to Jhulelal Vatika on the banks of river Gomti, after passing through several parts of the city.

The strong bond the former prime minister shared with the people of Lucknow was on display as they braved the rain and gathered at places along the route to bid farewell.

They chanted 'Atalji amar rahe' and 'Jab tak sooraj chaand rahegaa, Atal teraa naam rahegaa'.

UP Governor Ram Naik was present at the event. Senior Congress leader Pramod Tiwari and Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Yadav were at the meeting.

Newly appointed Bihar Governor Lalji Tandon, Samajwadi Party patron Mulayam Singh Yadav, UP Congress chief Raj Babbar, Legislative Assembly Speaker Hriday Narayan Dixit and senior BJP leader Kalraj Mishra recalled their association with the charismatic leader.

Muslim clerics Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahali and Maulana Kalbe Jawad also paid tributes.