Mortal remains of Ananth Kumar consigned to flames

Bengaluru: The mortal remains of Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar were consigned to flames with full state honours here Tuesday.

The funeral pyre was lit by Kumar’s younger brother Nanda Kumar, who performed the last rites according to Smartha Brahmin traditions, amidst chanting of Vedic hymns by priests at the Chamarajapete cremation ground.

Chants of “Amar rahe, amar rahe, Ananth Kumar amar rahe” and “Bharat mata ki jai” rent the air as leaders paid homage and the mortal remains were consigned to flames.

Veteran BJP leader and former deputy prime minister L K Advani, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP chief Amit Shah, and state party chief B S Yeddyurappa were present.

Also in attendance were Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan, Mahesh Sharma, Vijay Goel and Sadananda Gowda.

The 59-year old Bangalore South MP, breathed his last during the early hours on Monday at the Sri Shankara Cancer Hospital and Research Centre. He was under care at the hospital after returning home in October following treatment in the US and Britain.