Ex-Delhi CM cremated with full State honours; leaders across party lines pay tributes
Three-time Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, 81, who died on Saturday due to cardiac arrest, was cremated on Sunday at Nigambodh Ghat near the Yamuna River with full State honours.
Union Home Minister and BJP president Amit Shah, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his deputy Manish Sisodia, Power and Health Minister Satyendar Jain, former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, her daughter and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi as well and other Congress veterans, colleagues, workers and admirers witnessed the last rites braving heavy rain and gusty winds.
A large number of leaders, including BJP stalwart Lal Krishna Advani and former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh paid homage to Dikshit at her Nizamuddin East residence.
Dikshit’s body was taken to the Congress headquarters where top party leaders, including Manmohan Singh, chief ministers Ashok Gehlot and Kamal Nath, paid their respects. Later, the body was taken to the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee office, the city unit which she was heading at the time of her death.
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah too visited Dikshit’s residence. From there, Dikshit’s final journey to Nigambodh Ghat began in a van with her sister Rama Dhawan at her side.
The truck carrying the casket moved slowly as the road was packed with supporters who chanted ‘Jab tak suraj chand rahega Sheila ji ka naam rahega’ and Sheila amar rahe amid light rain. The cremation was done using the CNG method that was installed at the ghat during her tenure as Delhi CM.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath and senior leaders Ahmed Patel and Raj Babbar were among others who joined the emotionally charged crowd.
Vinod Singh (56), a party worker who was standing outside DPCC headquarters, trying to get in to pay homage amid unprecedented gathering, claimed that he worked with Dikshit in Delhi Assembly elections. He said he can never forget the love and warmth of the former CM. “The national Capital is renovated by her. Everything that you can see here, it all became possible because of her extraordinary efforts during her 15 years as Delhi CM,” he said.
Friends, relatives and supporters remembered Dikshit as an affable person who gave the best advice in hour of need, a concerned chief minister who cared for everyone and a leader above party politics.
“She was still working and trying to revive the party. She has left us but will be remembered for her extraordinary works for the party and for people of Delhi. She was a dedicated leader. She kept motivating party workers, a soft-spoken and a fighter,” said Ashish Gupta, a DPCC post-bearer.
Earlier, paying homage to Dikshit, Sonia Gandhi said the CM was a friend and like an elder sister to her. Her demise was a big loss to the Congress party, she said.
As the longest serving woman CM who steered her party to victory for three consecutive terms in 1998, 2003 and 2008, Dikshit ushered in an era of all-round development that transformed Delhi into a world class Capital.
She also initiated green reforms in public transport sector successfully accomplishing the shift from polluting vehicles to a CNG based fleet. Kejriwal, who handed Dikshit her first electoral defeat in decades, was among the first to underscore the importance of the CM’s contribution.
After announcing that the Delhi Government would host a State funeral for her, he wrote, “Only last month I had met her for nearly an hour when she came with her party’s delegation to submit a memorandum on several issues.”
At the end of the meeting, I wished her good health, not knowing that this would be my last meeting with her,” he said.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited her residence and was accompanied by Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari.
As the longest serving woman Chief Minister who steered her party to victory for three consecutive terms in 1998, 2003 and 2008, Dikshit ushered in an era of all-round development that transformed Delhi into a world class capital. She also initiated green reforms in public transport sector successfully accomplishing the shift from polluting vehicles to a CNG based fleet.