NEW DELHI: The last rites of late Union Minister Ananth Kumar were performed at Chamarajpet Crematorium in Bengaluru. The BJP leader who was 59, was given a state funeral with 21-gun salute and guard of honour at a crematorium in the city's southwest suburb on Tuesday afternoon. The final rites were performed by his brother Nanda Kumar in accordance with Hindu rites at Chamarajpet Crematorium.

Ananth Kumar breathed his last on Monday at a private hospital here due to multiple organ failure three weeks after he was admitted on return from the US on October 21.

Earlier this morning, to have a final glimpse of their "most loved" Bengaluru MP, known for geniality and accessibility, hundreds of mourners filed past the body of Kumar, which lay in state at his residence and was then taken to the party state headquarters 'Jagannath Bhavan' and the National College ground in his Bengaluru South parliamentary constituency. The mortal remains were carried in a decorated military vehicle with personnel of the three services- the Army, Navy and Air Force- accompanying it, amid slogans of "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" and "Ananth Kumar Amar Rahe" by his supporters.

State BJP sources said the party's National President Amit Shah, Union Ministers, including Rajnath Singh, Piyush Goyal, Harsh Vardhan, Radha Mohan Singh, Ramdas Atavale, Mahesh Sharma, Ashwinikumar Choube and Ramkripal Yadav would also pay homage.



Prime Minister Narendra Modi flew in here from Varanasi last night and paid homage to his colleague by placing a wreath on his mortal remains.   The Karnataka government had declared a three-day state mourning.