Last rites of Sushil Kumar Modi performed at Patna, accorded state honours

Former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi's last rites were performed at the Digha Ghat in Patna on Friday. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader was given state honours during his last rites.

Sushil Modi passed away at Delhi's All-India Institute of Medical Sciences on Monday evening after battling cancer for seven months. He was 72.

BJP president JP Nadda, along with Bihar Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Sinha paid tributes to Sushil Modi at the party office. Nadda said that Sushil Modi had spent 40 years of his life in association with the party, from the days when it was known as the Bharatiya Jana Sangh.

"It is a matter of grief that a senior leader and a person who took forward the BJP's ideology--Sushil Modi is not with us anymore. He left us when he was middle-aged. Sushil ji was one of those leaders who spent 40 years of his life from Bharatiya Jana Sangh to Bharatiya Janata Party," Nadda said speaking to ANI on Tuesday.

Offering condolences to Sushil Modi's family, Nadda said, "Under his leadership, the party gained a lot of popularity in Bihar. He has left his mark in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. It is a very sad incident for the party that such a leader is no longer with us."

Union Minister Nityanand Rai said that the loss of Sushil Modi is an irreplaceable loss for the BJP and the society.

"This is a huge loss to the BJP party and the society. He started serving the society from the time when he was a student. As a member of the Vidhan Parishad, Vidhan Sabha, Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha he highlighted various issues of Bihar which were relevant to society and the country...This is an irreplaceable loss...," Rai said.
 

Earlier in the day, Samrat Chaudhary, Vijay Kumar Sinha, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi and other BJP leaders paid homage to the former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister.

On the demise of Sushil Kumar Modi, BJP candidate from Patna Sahib Lok Sabha seat, Ravi Shankar Prasad said the he was like his "elder brother" and was a crusader in his fight against corruption.

"He was like an elder brother, a great leader, a good administrator, a popular Deputy Chief Minister and a crusader in the fight against corruption. We were together in the student union, Bihar and India's politics...This is an irreparable loss..," Prasad said speaking to ANI on Tuesday.

Union Minister Pralhad Joshi shared that Sushil Modi used to come to Parliament prepared and also guided him when he became a new MP.

"He (Sushil Modi) was with me for one term. He used to come to Parliament very prepared. When I became a new MP, we used to ask him, he used to guide us very well," Joshi said speaking to ANI.

Sushil Modi announced his treatment last month and did not participate in the Lok Sabha election campaign. Over his three-decade-long political career, Sushil Modi played a pivotal role in shaping Bihar's political environment. Sushil Modi held various positions in his three-decade-long political career. He served as an MLA, MLC and member of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

He served as the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar from 2005 to 2013 and again from 2017 to 2020.