Delhi BJP takes out Vajpayee's 'Asthi Kalash Yatra'

The Delhi unit of the BJP today took an urn carrying the ashes of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in a procession through the New Delhi parliamentary constituency.

Scores of BJP leaders and workers participated in the 'Asthi Kalash Yatra', which will conclude on August 31 after covering all seven Lok Sabha constituencies in Delhi. The ashes will be immersed in the Yamuna river.

Hundreds of people paid homage to the late prime minister as the yatra passed through various parts of the national capital

Senior leaders including Union ministers Harsh Vardhan, Vijay Goel, and Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari, New Delhi MP Meenakshi Lekhi were part of the procession.

Tiwari, who led the procession, said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has lost its founder and guardian. Vajpayee was a "messenger of development" who was always concerned about the poor and the downtrodden in the society.

Similar 'Asthi Kalash Yatras' is being organized by all state units of the BJP across the country.

"Many people turned up as the procession passed through different parts of New Delhi, remembering Vajpayee and paying him tribute," said Kuljeet Chahal, Delhi BJP general secretary and convenor of the Yatra.

The yatra will pass through South Delhi parliamentary constituency areas tomorrow.

The BJP central leadership's plan to immerse the ashes in about 100 major rivers across the country has drawn some criticism from the opposition Congress, which accused the BJP of trying to make political gains out of Vajpayee's death.

Meanwhile, the former prime minister's ashes were immersed in the Saryu river in of Ayodhya amid the recital of verses from Hindu religious scriptures this evening.

A procession with an urn carrying the ashes started from Ahmadpur toll plaza of Barabanki, which marks the boundary of the Faizabad parliamentary constituency starts. The procession was led by Faizabad BJP MP Lallu Singh and joined by MLAs.

Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma was also present.

When the procession reached Ayodhya, Iqbal Ansari, the litigant in the Babri Masjid case, welcomed it and paid tribute to Vajpayee.

Talking to PTI, Ansari said, "Vajpayee ji was a secular man. He never promoted communalism even in the days of Ram Mandir movement, and to keep himself disconnected from controversial issue of Ram Janambhoomi, he never came to Ayodhya to offer prayer at the disputed shrine of Lord Ram."

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)