Haridwar: Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's ashes were immersed in the Ganga river at Har-ki-Pauri in Haridwar on Sunday. The ceremony was performed by his daughter Namita Bhattacharya.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and other leaders were also present for the immersion ceremony.
#WATCH: Late #AtalBihariVajpayee's daughter Namita immerses his ashes in Ganga river at Har-ki-Pauri in Haridwar. Granddaughter Niharika, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and BJP President Amit Shah also present. #Uttarakhand pic.twitter.com/ETBCsAF3Dp
— ANI (@ANI) August 19, 2018
Earlier in the day, his daughter Namita Bhattacharya and granddaughter Niharika had collected the ashes from Smriti Sthal in New Delhi.
The former prime minister's ashes, which were carried in three urns, were first taken by road to Prem Ashram and then to Har-ki-Pauri in Uttarakhand's Haridwar for immersion.
After Haridwar, Vajpayee's ashes will be immersed in various rivers across the country. It will be immersed in all the holy rivers of Uttar Pradesh, including Ganga, Yamuna and Tapti, to respect his grand stature, the state government had announced on Friday.
Yogi Adityanath had previously said that Uttar Pradesh is Vajpayee's workplace and by immersing his ashes in all the rivers across the state, people will get a chance to be a part of his last rites.
Vajpayee, the 10th prime minister of India, breathed his last on Thursday evening. He was cremated on Friday with full state honour at Smriti Sthal in the national capital.
The former prime minister, whose ancestral home is at Bateshwar in Agra, died at the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) following a prolonged illness. He was 93.
