Former PM Gujral cremated with full state honours
New Delhi, Dec 1 (ANI)
Former Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral, who breathed his last yesterday, was cremated with full state honours near Smriti Sthal here on Saturday.
Gujral is survived by two sons, Naresh and Vishal, and three grandchildren. Naresh is a sitting Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab and a senior leader of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).
Gujral's younger brother Satish is a famous artist and sculptor.
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Defence Minister A.K. Antony, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, Communication and IT Minister Kapil Sibal, Minister for New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah, Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal, BJP leader Ananth Kumar and LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan were among those who visited Gujral's residence in Janpath earlier and offered floral tributes to the departed leader.
Sibal, who paid his tributes to the former Prime Minister, said that India has lost one of her great sons in the form of I.K. Gujral.
"We have lost a great son of India, a man of extraordinary abilities, a man who always spread the message of peace, not just within the neighbourhood but throughout the world," he said.
The government has declared a seven-day national mourning as a mark of respect to the departed leader. The national flag will be flown at half-mast throughout India during the mourning period.
Gujral, 92, passed away at Gurgaon's Medanta Hospital on Friday after a prolonged illness.
Gujral, who was admitted to the hospital on November 19 with a lung infection, had been on dialysis for over a year.
Gujral, who was the Prime Minister of the country for the year between 1997 and 1998, is best known for his 'Gujral Doctrine' that proposed closer ties with India and her neighbours.