NEW DELHI, Aug 7 - The mortal remains of former external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj were consigned to flames on Wednesday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior leaders, besides family, friends and admirers bid a tearful adieu to the political stalwart.
A sea of mourners had gathered at the Lodhi Road crematorium here where she was cremated with full state honours.
Swaraj, one of India�s most high-profile woman politicians, who brought a rare empathy and a human approach to India�s diplomacy, died at AIIMS here late Tuesday night, plunging the nation in a state of grief.
The body of the former minister, wrapped in a tricolour, was brought to the crematorium in the afternoon from the BJP headquarters, where it was kept for a few hours for people to pay their respects.
Hundreds of people, including the Prime Minister, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, BJP chief Amit Shah, veteran party leader LK Advani, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Harsh Vardhan and Ashwini Kumar Choubey, BJP working president JP Nadda, and New Delhi MP Meenakshi Lekhi bade her an emotional farewell.
Senior Congress leaders Anand Sharma, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot also attended the funeral.
Her mortal remains were consigned to flames in the electric crematorium, amid sounding of the ceremonial bugle and strains of vedic mantras in the background.
The Prime Minister was seen comforting her husband Swaraj Kaushal and daughter Bansuri.
People from multiple faiths converged at the crematorium, and many came from as far as Bihar and Madhya Pradesh to pay homage to Swaraj. � PTI
