JORHAT, July 27 - Thousands of mourners from different walks of life, bid a tearful adieu to former Union minister Bijoy Krishna Handique, who was cremated today with full state honours at the Tarajan cremation ground here.
The cremation was carried out in presence of a large number of locals, prominent politicians including All India Congress Committee general secretary BK Hariprasad, State Education Minister Sarat Barkataky, Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Anjan Dutta, legislator Pradyut Bordoloi, Rana Goswami, Sarat Saikia, Rupjyoti Kurmi and many others, senior police officials including DIG (Eastern Range) Satyen Gogoi and hundreds of admirers of the departed leader.
The late leader�s eldest daughter Maitreyi Handique lit the pyre.
Before the cremation, his body was taken to the Hemalata Handique Memorial Institue School and to the office of the Jorhat District Congress Committee.
Recalling the invaluable contributions of Handique towards various developmental activities in the district, teachers and students of the institution paid floral tributes to him, while hundreds of Congress members of the district paid rich tributes to him at their district office.
Along with several dignitaries, Speaker of the Assam Legislative Assembly Pranab Gogoi also paid rich tributes to the departed soul at his Jorhat residence today. �His dignified personality and highly valued political ideology will always remain fresh in our minds. His death is a great loss for us,� said Speaker Gogoi.
APCC chief Dutta said Handique�s death had caused an immense loss to the Congress party.
Vice president of the Jorhat District Congress Committee Surjya Baruah said that they had lost a veteran Congress leader who always tried to keep the party united at various crisis situations.
Expressing sorrow over the death of the former Union minister, who represented the Jorhat Lok Sabha constituency in the Parliament from 1991 to 2014, businessmen in many areas of the city kept their shops closed till the afternoon.
As a mark of respect for the departed leader, government offices and educational institutions of the district observed a half-holiday today. Along with the Jorhat Zila Sahitya Sabha, representatives of several local organisations and dignitaries paid tributes to Handique.
