To be cremated on Yamuna River banks

New Delhi: Former Finance Minister and BJP veteran Arun Jaitley (66), who died yesterday, will be cremated with State honours this afternoon on the banks of Yamuna River. 

His body was kept at the BJP headquarters where party workers and leaders paid their last respects before cavalcade carrying the mortal remains left for final journey to Nigambodh Ghat at around 1.15 pm.

The funeral procession passed on eight-km route from the BJP office to the Nigambodh Ghat on the banks of Yamuna river where the last rites will take place around 2.30 pm.

Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and National Working President of Bharatiya Janata Party, JP Nadda, Union Ministers Dr. Harsh Vardhan and Piyush Goyal, Jharkhand CM Raghubar Das, Baba Ramdev, Party workers, senior leaders and admirers paid respects to former Union Minister Arun Jaitley, at party headquarters.  Jaitley’s wife Sangeeta, daughter Sonali and son Rohan too were the BJP office.

Earlier in the morning, Senior Congress leader Motilal Vohra, NCP leaders Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel, RLD leader Ajit Singh and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP leader N. Chandrababu Naidu visited his home today.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was in Bahrain yesterday, turned emotional at an event as he remembered his “friend”, Arun Jaitley. “I can’t imagine that I am so far here while my friend has gone away. Some days ago, we lost our former External Affairs Minister Behen Sushma Ji. Today I have lost my friend Arun,” he said.